- Sophie de Reval: May I come in?
- Erich von Lhomond: Of course. Thank you. It's quite late, Sophie.
- Sophie de Reval: I'll just smoke a pipeful. Why did you come to Kratovice of all places, Erich?
- Erich von Lhomond: Where should I have gone?
- Sophie de Reval: You could have stayed in Paris or Berlin. No one forced you to fight in this war.
- Erich von Lhomond: I'm an officer and useless in Berlin.
- Sophie de Reval: What are you defending here? Your mother lost everything before the war.
- Erich von Lhomond: Perhaps I like lost causes. In any case I've always fought for them.
- Sophie de Reval: At least you've none of Konrad's illusions.
- Erich von Lhomond: Konrad's beliefs are truer than yours, Sophie. His don't come from books, but from life, from your family tradition.
- Sophie de Reval: The new era has no use for our tradition.
- Erich von Lhomond: No one chooses his own story.
- Sophie de Reval: Oh yes.
- Erich von Lhomond: You should go to bed, Sophie.
- Sophie de Reval: Do you have a mistress? Some woman must be waiting for you in Germany or France? Franz tells me women are fond of you.
- Erich von Lhomond: I have no mistress, Sophie.
- Sophie de Reval: You don't want to talk about it.
- Erich von Lhomond: My affairs with women have been short and trivial. There's nothing to say.
- Sophie de Reval: A brief affair can be beautiful.
- Erich von Lhomond: Women want lasting relationships. Friendship means more to me.
- Sophie de Reval: Than love?
- Erich von Lhomond: It's more reliable.
- Sophie de Reval: You've only met the worst sort of women.
- Erich von Lhomond: On the contrary, I thought them the best. In any case, they didn't try to play a part in my life.