"Admirably," said Beatrice.
"Ah—as for me, dearest friend," said the Marchesa, "you know what a nervous creature I am. I never sleep."
"You look as though you had rested wonderfully well," observed Beatrice to San Miniato. "Half a century, at least!"
"Do I?" asked the Count, delighted by her manner and quite without suspicion.
"Yes. You look twenty years younger."
"About ten years old?" suggested San Miniato with a smile.
"Oh no! I did not mean that. You look about twenty, I should say."
"I am charmed," he answered, without wincing.
"It may be only those beautiful new clothes you have on," said Beatrice with a sweet smile. "Clothes make so much difference with a man."
San Miniato did not show any annoyance, but he made no direct answer and turned to the Marchesa.