“No, no, not that! Oh, I adore you!”
She laid frantic hold on the lapel of his coat. He covered her hand with his.
“What then? How nervous you are! What can it be?”
He laughed.
“You are not going to tell me that you are married already, I suppose?”
“Yes, yes, that’s just it. I am!”
There was a pause. Then—
“I said it in joke. Do you mean to say that you are not joking?”
“No, no, I wish I were. I have deceived you shamefully.”
He stared at her, then he sat down heavily on the chair by the table in front of his work. He looked a little bewildered and very angry.