Do not look surprised.

I am a very old man; they have all died, and at present I am not in love with anybody.

I suppose it cannot last long, however.

I loved a woman once on a time"-- Benoni paused.

He seemed to be on the verge of a soliloquy, and his strange, bright face, which seemed illuminated always with a deathless vitality, became dreamy and looked older.