“Is he at home?”
“He is waiting for you.”
“You will leave me at the house door, Provana,” she added coldly.
“Of course, there is no necessity to order me to do it. I will come to-morrow to greet you.”
“No, Provana.”
“Within a few days, then.”
“The latest possible, and better never.”
“Never is a big word, Donna Maria. Why don’t you want to see me any more?”
“Do you believe that I am what I am, and what I shall always be, a creature of truth? Do you believe that I have come this evening to Emilio Guasco’s home, to my husband’s home, to accomplish a solemn act? Why, then, do you wish me to become a creature of lies? Why, then, do you wish to make grotesque, doubly grotesque, my act of humility, and my husband’s act of pardon.”
“But why ever do you suppose that, Donna Maria?” he asked, a little confused.