"We use surnames in society, Monsieur Zalenska?"
"Opal!" appealingly.
"Why such emotion, Monsieur?" mockingly.
The Boy was taken aback for a moment, but he met her eyes bravely.
"Why? Because I love you, Opal, and in your heart you know it!"
"Why?"
"Why do I love you? Because I can't help it! Who knows, really, why anything happens or does not happen in this topsy-turvy world?"
The girl looked at him steadily for a moment, and then spoke indifferently, almost lightly.
"Have you looked at the orchid you wished so much to see, Monsieur Zalenska? Mamma is very proud of it!"
"Opal!"