"Surely, Mrs. Usselex."
"Yes, of course. I forgot. All Germans do. Tell me, how long have you been in this country? How do you come to speak German without an accent?"
"I was born here, Mrs. Usselex."
"You were born here! I thought you were a German. Why didn't you tell me?"
"You did not do me the honor to ask."
"But your father was, wasn't he?"
"No, my father was a Russian, I think."
"You think? Why do you say you think? Don't you know? I never knew anyone so absurd."
"My father died when I was very young, Mrs. Usselex. I do not remember him."
"But your mother could have told you—"