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.

Now, however, she felt that much was at stake.

For many reasons San Miniato was precisely the son-in-law she desired.

He would give Beatrice an ancient and honourable name, a leading position in any Italian society he chose to frequent, whether in the north or the south, and he was a man of the world at all points.