All during this curious discourse, Eliza was trying to saw away, with her dagger, at the ox-hide strap that served as the hinge of the carriage door. This was difficult to achieve without a continual movement of the shoulder that must have been obvious to de Gex, and so she was trying to go about it subtly. Which meant slowly. He was evidently in no hurry to get on with her auto da fé; but she feared he was now drawing to some conclusion, and about to set fire to her carriage, or something. So she asked him a question. "It is just the opposite of what one would think, given your passion for Alchemy—who would’ve phant’sied you’d such an antipathy for money?"