“Nay—he hath my love!”

“A king should have thy love; those pretty lips, those eyes, those little fingers, were not made for clowns.”

“Nay—but I love him!”

“And I love thee. A poor home, and a poor husband—is this thy lot? See away there, ’tis my house, ’tis my palace. I love thee, I love thee. Wilt thou be my wife, Zerlina?”

“Wife, Senor, thy wife?

“Choose between us, Masetto or Don Juan.”

“I—I, then, a great lady. Yet, Masetto.”

“Come my love, come, my love.”

But the don started and turned pale, for as he made a step forward with the simple little Zerlina, there was standing Donna Elvira.

“Thou seest,” he said rapidly, before she could speak, “I am but toying with her simplicity, I mean no harm.”