Medici
To have you in my palace so (admiringly) is, perhaps, the next best thing to—have you in my——
Lucia
Oh, I implore you. Leave me with him. (Singing comes very close.) I promise.
Medici
(Shrugging.) You have chosen the one spell that moves me. Even more strong than the love of a fair woman is my love of art—its wonder, its beauty, and its triumph. His picture will outlive even your loveliness. (Sighs.) My name and my great palace will remind a later world of me, and of what I did for beauty. Well, well, my Lady Lucia, you win me over—for the moment, at any rate. I will stand behind this screen and listen. I must hear how you persuade genius to abjure its principles!
Lucia
(Firmly.) Then I do nothing. You must first go.
Medici
Another “must.” Your self-will is adorable. Upon my word! But I, too, have a “must”—his work, with yourself as model, on my palace ceiling! (Yields with a sarcastic bow.)