This time, Lotzen's stare was even longer. Then, suddenly, he laughed.
"I thought, for a moment, you actually meant it," he said.
She put both elbows on the table and leaned forward.
"Come, monsieur, let us be frank with each other," she said. "Not only am I not Armand Dalberg's wife, but you have always known it."
He frowned. "My dear girl," he said, "I've been sorrowfully accepting your own word that you are his wife; how should I know that you've been——" he hesitated.
She finished it for him—
"Lying, Duke, lying," she laughed.
He held up his hands, protestingly.
"Not at all, my dear; teasing is the word I wanted."
She lay back in the chair and laughed softly to herself.