"That's kind of you to say... but, like it or not, money is an object." She shook her head. "You are very kind, sir, but you're still a stranger. For all I know this could be what you've been saving up for months, or you worked very hard for it, or..."

She hesitated, not really wanting to say this next part, but it had happened once before. Thank goodness Basilio had been there, but he wasn't now, and she was on her own. "Or you might try to buy me."