“Listen,” he said. “Will you promise never to meddle with my affairs again, if I prove to you that I am loved for my own sake?”

“Yes, I promise you,” I replied, without hesitation, for I felt convinced that for such a monster the proof was impossible.

“Well, then, it’s quite simple.⁠ ⁠… Christine Daaé shall leave this as she pleases and come back again!⁠ ⁠… Yes, come back again, because she wishes⁠ ⁠… come back of herself, because she loves me for myself!⁠ ⁠…”

“Oh, I doubt if she will come back!⁠ ⁠… But it is your duty to let her go.”

“My duty, you great booby!⁠ ⁠… It is my wish⁠ ⁠… my wish to let her go; and she will come back again⁠ ⁠… for she loves me!⁠ ⁠… All this will end in a marriage⁠ ⁠… a marriage at the Madeleine, you great booby! Do you believe me now? When I tell you that my nuptial mass is written⁠ ⁠… wait till you hear the ‘Kyrie’.⁠ ⁠…”