"Marriage would not be the truth."
Peter clenched his hands: "On any terms I must have you."
"That is for me to say."
Peter looked at Vivette and found her inexorably set against him. Clearly she was not that day to be moved. His passion died, and her words went poignantly home. He released her arm. His increasing dejection prompted Vivette to soften the steel of her manner:
"Cool yourself, Peter. Put me out of your mind. You are not looking for a mistress, and I want you to wait for the real thing."
"To have you would be very real. You have proved already that you love me."
She saw again the serpent's head and crushed it.
"I have loved before," she said deliberately. "Last night would have meant less to me than to you. Is that what you want?"
Peter cursed himself, and went.
"Good-bye," Vivette called to him. "Next time we meet I expect you to be in a better mind."