"Sit down, Jeanne; our interview will be short, and it could not be delayed, for to-morrow I shall not be here."
"You are leaving so soon?"
"Yes; I only left Paris on my daughter's account, and on yours. My daughter knows what I had to tell her; now it is your turn! Why did you come to Nice?"
"I could not do otherwise."
"Because?"
"Because my husband wished it."
"You ought to have made him wish something else. Your power over him is absolute."
There was a moment's pause. Then Jeanne answered:
"I feared to insist lest I should awaken his suspicions."
"Good! But admitting that you came to Nice, why accept hospitality in this house?"