"But supposing she comes to you?"
"I am ... not at home."
"And if she comes again?"
"I say I am not well."
"If she looks after you?"
"I play her some dirty trick."
"And if she puts up with it?"
"I write to her husband anonymous letters, so that he may look after her on the days that I expect her."
"That is serious! I cannot resist, and do not know how to bring about a rupture, and so I have a collection of mistresses. There are some whom I do not see more than once a year, others every ten months, others on those days when they want to dine at a restaurant, those whom I have put at regular intervals do not worry me, but I often have great difficulty with the fresh ones, so as to keep them at proper intervals."
"And then...."