But Anthony fell back, aghast.
"Sampaolo?" he cried.
"Yes," said she, quietly.
"Oh, I say!" He writhed, he groaned. "That is too much. Really!"
"That is my condition," said Susanna. Her mouth was firm.
"You don't mean it—you can't mean it." He frowned his incredulity.
"I mean it literally," she persisted. "You must make a journey to
Sampaolo."
"But what's the sense of it?" he besought her. "Why on earth should you impose such a condition?" He frowned his incomprehension.
"Because you have asked me to be your wife," she answered.
He shook his head, mournfully, scornfully.