You might ruin the whole lot of us with it." "Well, Anicza will not wear it on her head, I suppose, or even on her neckerchief, but will fasten it to a little bit of thread and wear it next her heart, there nobody will find it but myself." Onucz would very much have liked to say: "Neither have you any right to look there, Domnule, for you have not yet spoken to the priest about it"-- but this was the one thing he durst not say.
But Anicza gratefully kissed Fatia Negra's hand like a child who has received a gift, not indeed for the ducat, but for the boundless confidence he had shown in giving it to her, which was the surest token of his love.

Then she drew forth a little Turkish dagger, bored a hole with it through the ducat and fastened it to a little piece of thin black cord by the side of her little crucifix which she wore upon her bosom--and hid both of them away again.
"Well Domnule," remarked Onucz sulkily, "since we have placed our heads in the girl's hands we must beware of ever offending her." But now the assayer came up, bringing with him a nice elaborate calculation on a black slate, showing exactly how much pure gold Onucz had handed in to the coining department, how much it would be worth when coined and deducting three per cent for expenses, how much he was to receive in cash by way of exchange.
"And now go and let the cashier pay you what is due to you, Onucz," said Fatia Negra.
And so while he remained behind for the purpose of settling his account Anicza and Fatia Negra retired to a little adjoining chamber.

There would be plenty of time for two lovers to talk over their love affairs while so many gold coins were being counted out.
"Where have you been?
it's a whole month since I saw you ?" asked Anicza sitting on the adventurer's knee.

"Do you know how long a month is to me?
First quarter, new moon, full moon, last quarter, all this have I watched through and never saw you once, where have you been ?" "I have been abroad for those new machines.

That is a business one cannot entrust to another." "Are there pretty girls abroad ?--Might you not fall in love with them ?" "Hush! Those are not the questions that men should be asked." "Why not ?" "Because men are not in the habit of answering them." "But suppose a girl wants to know ?" "Then it will go badly with her.