"And do you know what is its opposite?"
"That I do not know yet."
"To be betrayed."
"Who would betray me?"
"Who but he whom you believe loves you?"
"My Aleko?"
"Yes, your Aleko, who is the property of so many besides you. A more fickle man, a greater deceiver, more cruel, dishonorable, you could not have met with on earth."
"What reason could he have to deceive me?"
"Because he hopes, through you, to rise to higher rank."
"Oh no! He has refused all titles, rank, and possessions. He is taking me as I am. My trousseau and this piece of copper—a piece of the ship which ran into the Winter Palace, and which he gave me on the day of the catastrophe—are my whole wealth. He means to remain a poor man, and to make himself a name which no dukedom could rival."