She flashed him an upward glance of anger, and the colour flooded her face. Bellarion, however, went calmly on.
'I owe him a debt of loyalty, I think; and so do you, madonna. I may know little of men, but from what I have seen I cannot think that there are many like Facino. It is his loyalty and honesty prevents him from gratifying your ambition.'
It is surprising that she should still have wished to argue with him. But so she did.
'His loyalty to whom?'
'To the Duke his master.'
'That animal! Does he inspire loyalty, Bellarion?'
'To his own ideals, then.'
'To anything in fact but me,' she complained. 'It is natural enough, perhaps. Just as he is too old for me, so am I too young for him. You should judge me mercifully when you remember that, Bellarion.'
'It is not mine to judge you at all, madonna, and Heaven preserve me from such presumption. It is only mine to remember that all I have and all I am, I owe to my Lord Count, and that he is my adoptive father.'
'You'll not, I hope, on that account desire me to be a mother to you,' she sneered.