"Ah! you have in mind only the result! But suppose there isn't any result?"
"Why, then it will be for the poor girl herself, who will at least be secure against want."
"Ah! it will be for the girl, if it isn't needed for the child! Very good! You think of everything! You would make an excellent cashier for a broker!"
"Why, I should not object to that. As a general rule, men earn more with the pen than women do with the needle."
"That is why women don't look to their needle to satisfy their coquetry."
"They have no choice, since they are forced to it."
"Nobody forces them to be coquettes."
"But you would be very sorry if they were not!"
Monsieur de Mardeille continued to pace the floor, humming between his teeth:
"'When one knows how to love and please, what other boon can one desire?'