"And if I refuse?"
"Then you are still an angelic child," said de Vautrin. "I shall give you money—much money."
"And if I refuse that too?" she asked.
He started a pace back from her in amazement.
"You would desert me now, ma petite?"
Piquette's face grew suddenly solemn.
"Yes, Monsieur le Duc. We shall make no more pretenses, you and I. I go back to the Quartier where I am free. Perhaps one day I shall marry. Then you shall give me a present. But now——" And she extended a hand, "Adieu, mon ami."
He glanced at her and at Horton as though unwilling to believe what he had heard, then took a pace toward Piquette, his arms extended. But she only smiled at him.
"C'est fini, Olivier," she said quietly.
De Vautrin pulled at his long mustache and laughing turned away.