"It will bring misfortune upon others as well. Your last evening at baccarat was most disastrous, was it not?"
"How do you know?"
"Why, there was a member of your club in the tribune at the horse show, and on seeing you bow to me he naturally spoke of you, and of the game you played last evening. He told me that you were an excellent player, as cool when you lost as when you won. That is all very well; but one must be able to pay one's debts of honour."
"I shall pay mine," said Adhémar drily.
"I have wounded you, I see," replied the countess. "Believe me, the offence was unintentional. I have a bad habit of not concealing my feelings, and of imagining that I have a right to oblige those I like. I heard that you were embarrassed pecuniarily, and my first impulse was to help you. It was for that reason that I asked you to call here. If you refuse my offer you will wound me deeply, I assure you."
"What would you think of me if I accepted it?"
"I should think that I inspired you with sufficient liking and confidence to make you willing to become my debtor. I merely propose a loan. With Pierre, it was different. Pierre was to marry me. We had the same interests, and my fortune was his; but I shall accommodate you exactly as one friend accommodates another, and if you insist upon it, I am willing to accept your note for the amount."
"My note would not be worth more than a verbal promise, for I have no security to give, and I should probably be unable to meet the note when it fell due. If I consented to accept your offer, I should never dare to set foot here again, and that would be a terrible deprivation for me."
"You wish to see me again, you say, and yet you hesitate to make this slight sacrifice of pride? It is not in this way that I wish to be loved."
"Then you would be willing to accept my love and devotion?" exclaimed Puymirol.