"You say you are devoted to me."
"In the past—at the present—for the future!"
"Give me a proof."
"Speak, godmother."
"Tell me by what means you propose to make me free?"
Madame de Hansfeld's voice faltered, then she added, instantly and quickly,—
"Without either you or me being inculpated in the—the—What is to be done?"
These words seemed to burn Paula's lips as she uttered them.
"Why that question?"
"I have no faith in the possibility of what you have promised me and do not look to profit by it, but I wish to know by what means you propose—in fact, you understand me——"