But
since there was nobody to see, and since it was quite impossible that
she should run after the pair when they chose to leave her side,
resignation was the best policy, resignation without effort, without
fatigue and without qualms. Moreover, San Miniato himself had told her
that in some of the best families in the north of Italy it was
considered permissible for a man to offer himself directly to a young
lady, and San Miniato was undoubtedly familiar with the usages of the
very best society. It was quite safe to trust to him.
San Miniato himself would have greatly preferred to leave the
negotiations in the hands of the Marchesa and would have done so had he
not known that she possessed no power whatever over Beatrice. But he saw
that the Marchesa, however much she might desire the marriage, would
never exert herself to influence her daughter. She was far too indolent,
and at heart, perhaps, too indifferent, and she knew the value of money
and especially of her own. San Miniato made up his mind that if he won
at all, it must be upon his own merits and by his own efforts.
He had not found it hard to lead Beatrice away from the lamp when dinner
was over, and after walking about on the rocks for a few minutes he
proposed that they should sit down near the water, facing the moonlit
sea.
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