He had even been there to study the place,
to see the very point at which the moon would rise, the very place where
he would make me sit, the very spot where your table could stand. He
said to himself that I was a mere girl, that of course no man had ever
made love to me and that between the beauty of the night, my liking for
him, and his well arranged comedy, he might easily move me. He did. I am
ashamed of it. Look at the blood in my cheeks! That tells the truth, at
all events. I am utterly ashamed. I would give my right hand to have not
spoken those words! I would almost give my life to undo yesterday if it
could be undone--and undo it I will, so far as I can. I will tell San
Miniato what I think of myself, and then I will tell him what I think of
him, and that will be enough. Do you understand me? I am in earnest."
The Marchesa had listened to Beatrice's long speech with open eyes,
surprised at the girl's keenness and at her determined manner. Not that
the latter was new in her experience, but it was the first time that
their two wills had been directly opposed in a matter of great
importance. The Marchesa was a very indolent person, but somewhere in
her nature there lay hidden a small store of determination which had
hardly ever expressed itself clearly in her life.
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