“I did know that it was expected: I was prepared; yet I laid out no centimes on flowers.”

“It is well⁠—you do right to be honest. I should almost have hated you had you flattered and lied. Better declare at once ‘Paul Carl Emanuel⁠— je te déteste, mon garçon !’ 182 ⁠—than smile an interest, look an affection, and be false and cold at heart. False and cold I don’t think you are; but you have made a great mistake in life, that I believe; I think your judgment is warped⁠—that you are indifferent where you ought to be grateful⁠—and perhaps devoted and infatuated, where you ought to be cool as your name. Don’t suppose that I wish you to have a passion for me, Mademoiselle; Dieu vous en garde ! 183