"Why didst thou try to fly Milan with Count Conrad?" he returned. "I was foolish not to spy on thee before."
Her gray eyes glinted.
"I tried to escape from a life that was grown intolerable," she cried, "and I will try yet again!"
Visconti smiled.
"My sister, thou art much too precious; I shall not let thee go. Thou art worth a great deal to me. Through thee our family will be united to the Royal House of France. My sister, thy husband will be the Duke of Orleans, and not a German fool."
But Valentine was also a Visconti: she advanced with blazing eyes.
"I will not marry to serve thy ambitions; I will not help to steady thee upon the throne. Mark me, Gian, sooner than wed a Prince whom thou hast chosen, I will drag thy name into the mire, and sit in rags at thy palace gates."
"Only thou hast not the choice," he answered pleasantly.
Her anger rose the more as she felt her helplessness.