"And I to you, and I to you?" he said, speaking in her ear when he had made her an answer. "Dim, too? Why do we never talk of your inconstancy? We must discuss it."
"Inconstancy! That word had not occurred to me. It was your forgetfulness that I dreaded."
"I shall not be unforgetful until I am inconstant."
"Julien!"
"My love!"
"You can afford to tease me now you have me in such a mood!"
"In such a mood! Have I, indeed? Yet you will forget me before I forget you."
"You tell me to my face that I shall change?" she asked.
"Yes. And since you are bound to forget me, I insist at least that there shall be a reason for doing so. I would rather be a king dethroned than allowed to lapse like a poor idiot."
"You would? You can say that?" Her voice rose.