"What shall we do?" cried Jeanne, terrified.

"Go away at once. To remain here a moment longer is an imprudence."

"And I, if I remain, what shall I say to Cayrol when he comes?"

"Your husband!" said Serge, bitterly. "He loves you, he will forgive
you."

"I know; but then we two shall be separated for ever. Is that what you
desire?"

"And what can I do?" cried Serge, in despair. "Everything around me is
giving way! Fortune, which has been my one aim in life, is escaping from
me. The family which I have scorned is forsaking me. The friendship
which I have betrayed overwhelms me. There is nothing left to me."

"And my love, my devotion?" exclaimed Jeanne, passionately. "Do you
think that I will leave you? We must go away. I asked you long ago.
You resisted; the moment has now come. Be easy! Madame Desvarennes will
pay and save your name. In exchange you will give her back her daughter.
You don't care about her, because you love me. I am your real wife; she
who ought to share your life. Well, I take back my rights. I pay for
them with my honor. I break all ties which could hold me back. I am
yours, Serge! Our sin and misfortune will bind us more closely than any
laws could."

"Think, that with me you will have to endure poverty, and, perhaps,
misery," said the Prince, moved by the young woman's infatuation.