You see my dear husband wished to guard against even the most improbable cases.

How thankful I am that heaven has sent Beatrice such a man as you!" "Always good! Always kind!" San Miniato bent his head a little lower than was necessary as he looked at his watch.

He had something in his eyes which he preferred to hide.
Just then Beatrice's step was heard on the tiled floor of the sitting-room, and neither the Marchesa nor San Miniato thought it worth while to continue the conversation with the danger of being overheard.
So the afternoon wore on, bright and cloudless, and when the air grew cool Beatrice and her mother drove out together along the Massa road, and far up the hill towards Sant' Agata.

They talked little, for it is not easy to talk in the rattling little carriages which run so fast behind the young Turkish horses, and the roads are not always good, even in summer.

But San Miniato was left to his own devices and went and bathed, walking out into the water as far as he could and then standing still to enjoy the coolness.