"Thy cousin! Hast thou a cousin named Annina?"
"Lady, Annina. My mother's sister's child."
"The daughter of a wine-seller called Tomaso Torti?"
"Do the noble dames of the city take such heed of their inferiors! This will charm my cousin, for she has great desires to be noted by the great."
"And does thy cousin come hither?"
"Rarely, lady—we are not of much intimacy. I suppose Annina finds a girl, simple and uninstructed as I, unworthy of her company. But she will not refuse to aid us in a danger like this. I know she little loves the Republic, for we have had words on its acts, and my cousin has been bolder of speech about them, than befits one of her years, in this prison."
"Gelsomina, thy cousin is a secret agent of the police, and unworthy of thy confidence—"
"Lady!"
"I do not speak without reason. Trust me, she is employed in duties that are unbecoming her sex, and unworthy of thy confidence."
"Noble dames, I will not say anything to do displeasure to your high rank and present distress, but you should not urge me to think thus of my mother's niece. You have been unhappy, and you may have cause to dislike the Republic, and you are safe here—but I do not desire to hear Annina censured."