She looked at him, then dropped her eyelids on a sudden.
"Why should I fear, when you are by?"
Something clutched at Francesco's throat.
"I may not always be near you!"
She arched her eyebrows.
"Then I must look for another protector!" she retorted with a shrug.
Noting the pain her words gave him, she added more softly:
"You will not leave me again?"
"You shrink from the Frangipani," he replied, ignoring her question. "Has he insulted you? Is he your enemy?"
"It is not because he is an enemy, but rather the opposite, that I would avoid Raniero Frangipani," was her low reply.