“Blindness and prejudice be it then; it is really a matter of no importance. What I see most clearly is, that she is trying to force your inclination.”
“Oh! there is no doubt about that, for I have a horror of the baron! Did she not tell you so?”
“Quite the contrary! I supposed—”
“Oh, Monsieur Goefle, how could you suppose that I, at my age, would feel the least liking for a man fifty-five years old?”
“What! Is the person they want you to marry fifty-five years old into the bargain?”
“You are only pretending to be in doubt, Monsieur Goefle! You cannot help knowing his age; you are his lawyer, and, it is said, also his devoted friend—but I don’t believe that at all.”
“The deuce! You are right. May I be hung if I care a fig for him! But what is the name of the gentleman?”
“The baron? You do not know whom I am talking of?”
“How should I? There are so many barons in the world.”
“But my aunt has told you—”