"No, just a week. We have come from Vallombrosa, where we stayed till September was advanced."
"Is Vallombrosa amusing?"
"No; boring."
"Your wife, Donna Livia, likes it?"
"Exactly. She likes forests with their large trees. She lived there from morning till evening."
"Is Donna Livia here?"
"I left her for tea with some friends in Venice, and came here to pass an hour alone."
"Is she willing to leave you alone?"
"She lets me. She knows I like my freedom ... to do nothing with it. So she herself lets me go free, to please me."