“Yes. You don’t believe in the sincerity of my independence.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Is that courteous, towards a woman?”

“I am courteous only up to a certain point.”

“We have left that point behind. So be courteous again as before.”

“You are playing with me. I shall never forget it; I will be revenged.”

“So it’s a struggle for life and death?”

“No, a struggle for victory, for me.”

They had reached the atrio:

“Thanks for showing me round,” she said, a little mockingly. “The camera degli sposi, above all, was splendid. Don’t let us be angry any more.”