First Part Chapter 13

"If debarred from love, why not seek for happiness?"
I said to myself. "Moreover, I am loved, and the love offered me I
shall accept. My married life will be no slavery, but rather a
perpetual reign. What is there to say against such a situation for a
woman who wishes to remain absolute mistress of herself?"

The important point of separating marriage from marital rights was
settled in a conversation between Louis and me, in the course of which
he gave proof of an excellent temper and a tender heart. Darling, my
desire was to prolong that fair season of hope which, never
culminating in satisfaction, leaves to the soul its virginity. To
grant nothing to duty or the law, to be guided entirely by one's own
will, retaining perfect independence--what could be more attractive,
more honorable?

A contract of this kind, directly opposed to the legal contract, and
even to the sacrament itself, could be concluded only between Louis
and me.

This difficulty, the first which has arisen, is the only one
which has delayed the completion of our marriage. Although, at first,
I may have made up my mind to accept anything rather than return to
the convent, it is only in human nature, having got an inch, to ask
for an ell, and you and I, sweet love, are of those who would have it
all. I watched Louis out of the corner of my eye, and put it to myself,
"Has suffering had a softening or a hardening effect on him?" By dint
of close study, I arrived at the conclusion that his love amounted to
a passion.