"Mon Dieu!" she exclaimed, angrily interrupting him. "See what you
are for all your high-sounding vaunts of yourself and your attributes!
A woman may not smile upon you, may not say one kind word to you, but
you must imagine you have made a conquest. Ma foi, you and yours do
not deserve to be treated as anything but vassals. When we show you
a kindness, see how you abuse it. We extend to you our little finger
and you instantly lay claim to the whole arm. Because last night I
permitted myself to exchange a jest with you, because I chance to be
kind to you again to-day, you repay me with insults!"

"Stop!" he cried, rousing himself once more. "That is too much to
say, Mademoiselle. To tell a woman that you love her is never to
insult her. To be loved is never to be slighted. Upon the meanest
of His creatures it is enjoined to love the same God whom the King
loves, and there is no insult to God in professing love for Him.
Would you make a woman more than that?"

"Monsieur, you put questions I have no mind to answer; you suggest
a discussion I have no inclination to pursue. For you and me let
it suffice that I account myself affronted by your words, your tone,
and your manner. You drive me to say these things; by your
insistence you compel me to be harsh. We will end this matter here
and now, Monsieur, and I will ask you to understand that I never
wish it reopened, else shall I be forced to seek protection at the
hands of my father or my brother."

"You may seek it now, Suzanne," quoth a voice from the thicket at
her back, a voice which came to startle both of them though in
different ways. Before they had recovered from their surprise the