it
was a bargain of his own making; he could not say I had tricked him into
it. But as he projected and drew me in to lie with him, depending that
was a sure game in order to a marriage, so I granted him the favour, as
he called it, to balance the account of favours received from him, and
keep the thousand pistoles with a good grace.

He was extremely disappointed in this article, and knew not how to
manage for a great while; and as I dare say, if he had not expected to
have made it an earnest for marrying me, he would not have attempted me
the other way, so, I believed, if it had not been for the money which he
knew I had, he would never have desired to marry me after he had lain
with me. For where is the man that cares to marry a whore, though of his
own making? And as I knew him to be no fool, so I did him no wrong when
I supposed that, but for the money, he would not have had any thoughts
of me that way, especially after my yielding as I had done; in which it
is to be remembered that I made no capitulation for marrying him when I
yielded to him, but let him do just what he pleased, without any
previous bargain.

Well, hitherto we went upon guesses at one another's designs; but as he
continued to importune me to marry, though he had lain with me, and
still did lie with me as often as he pleased, and I continued to refuse
to marry him, though I let him lie with me whenever he desired it; I
say, as these two circumstances made up our conversation, it could not
continue long thus, but we must come to an explanation.

One morning, in the middle of our unlawful freedoms--that is to say,
when we were in bed together--he sighed, and told me he desired my
leave to ask me one question, and that I would give him an answer to it
with the same ingenious freedom and honesty that I had used to treat him
with. I told him I would. Why, then, his question was, why I would not
marry him, seeing I allowed him all the freedom of a husband. "Or," says
he, "my dear, since you have been so kind as to take me to your bed, why
will you not make me your own, and take me for good and all, that we may
enjoy ourselves without any reproach to one another?"

I told him, that as I confessed it was the only thing I could not comply
with him in, so it was the only thing in all my actions that I could not
give him a reason for; that it was true I had let him come to bed to me,
which was supposed to be the greatest favour a woman could grant; but i