"Ah,—but you don't know."
"I would find out. I think I could make some good guesses. I'll tell you what you would like best in all the world."
"What is that?"
"Somebody that liked you best in all the world."
"Ah,—yes; if one knew who?"
"How can you know, Miss Melmotte, but by believing?"
"That is not the way to know. If a girl told me that she liked me better than any other girl, I should not know it, just because she said so. I should have to find it out."
"And if a gentleman told you so?"
"I shouldn't believe him a bit, and I should not care to find out. But I should like to have some girl for a friend whom I could love, oh, ten times better than myself."
"So should I."