The portiere dropped behind her, and Newman sank with a long breath into the nearest chair.

He leaned back in it, resting his hands on the knobs of the arms and looking at Madame de Bellegarde and Urbain.
There was a long silence.

They stood side by side, with their heads high and their handsome eyebrows arched.
"So you make a distinction ?" Newman said at last.

"You make a distinction between persuading and commanding?
It's very neat.

But the distinction is in favor of commanding.