'Will you marry me?'
'No,' she said. 'But you may give me a cigarette.'
And for a while they smoked without speaking.
'I hope at any rate you believe me now,' he said.
'Because you've offered to make the crowning sacrifice? By the bye, what is my number?'
'Oh, don't,' he cried. 'You're the only woman I've ever cared a straw for; and I care so much for you that I'd—I'd—' He stammered, seeking for a thing to say he'd do.
'You'd go to the length of marrying me. Only fancy!'
'Oh, you may laugh. But I love you.'
'Do you love me as much as you used to love Hélène?'
'I love you as much as it's possible for a man to love a woman.'