"You have a great deal left, Urania. You have an object in life; you can do any amount of good in your surroundings. You are interested in the castle, which is now your own."
"It's all so empty!" she sobbed. "It means nothing to me. I need affection. Who is there that is fond of me? I have tried to love Gilio and I do love him, but he doesn't care for me. Nobody cares for me."
"Your poor are devoted to you. You have a noble aim in life."
"I'm glad of it, but I am too young to live only for an aim. And I have nothing else. Nobody cares for me."
"Prince Ercole, surely?"
"No, he despises me. Listen. I told you once before what Gilio said ... that there were no family-jewels, that they were all sold: you remember, don't you? Well, there are family-jewels. I gathered that from something the Contessa di Rosavilla said. There are family-jewels. But Prince Ercole keeps them in the Banco di Roma. They despise me; and I am not thought good enough to wear them. Arid to me they pretend that there are none left. And the worst of it is that all their friends, all their set know that the jewels are there, in the bank, and they all say that Prince Ercole is right. My money is good enough for them, but I am not good enough for their old jewels, the jewels of their grandmother!"
"That's a shame!" said Cornélie.
"It's the truth!" sobbed Urania. "Oh, do make it up, stay a little longer, for my sake!..."
"Judge for yourself, Urania: we really can't."
"I suppose you're right," she admitted, with a sigh. "It's all my fault."