He had good qualities, and courage was one of them, if courage may be
called a quality at all. Ruggiero was not at all sure that his new
master liked the sea, and it is possible that the Count was not sure of
the fact himself; but for the time, it suited him to sail as much as
possible, because Beatrice Granmichele was fond of it, and would
therefore amuse herself with excursions hither and thither during the
summer. As her mother rarely accompanied her, San Miniato could not,
according to the customs of the country, join her in her boat, and the
next best thing was to keep one for himself and to be as often as
possible alongside of her, and ready to go ashore with her if she took
a fancy to land in some quiet spot.
The Marchesa di Mola, having quite made up her mind that her daughter
should marry San Miniato, and being almost too indolent about minor
matters to care for appearances, would have allowed the two to be
together from morning till night under the very least shadow of a
chaperon's supervision, if Beatrice herself had shown a greater
inclination for San Miniato's society than she actually did.
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