“Madam, if I do, you are the first and only woman I have so insulted.”
“Remember the past, sir—its horrors——”
“Think of the future, madam, its joys. As my wife——”
“Heaven save and deliver me, sir!” she exclaimed scornfully. “Do you for one moment imagine I would contemplate a situation so extreme horrid?”
“But indeed, my lady, despite what the cynics say, marriage hath much to commend it. More especially a union ’twixt you and me, our natures being so extreme the opposite of each other.”
“That, indeed, is true, I thank heaven!” she nodded.
“Alas, yes, my lady. You being of a somewhat violent, shall we say—ungovernable temper——”
“Too tragically true!” murmured the Duchess behind her fan.
“Aunt, pray be silent!”
“The armoire, child!”