"
San Giacinto had made a study of old Montevarchi during a month
past, and was not in the least deceived by his rounded periods and
well expressed moral sentiments. But he smiled and bowed, enjoying
the idea of attributing such flattery to himself in proportion as
he felt that he was unworthy of it. He had indeed done his best to
acquire a certain amount of instruction, as his father-in-law
called it, and his tastes were certainly not so coarse as might
have been expected, but he was too strong a man to be easily
deceived concerning his own powers, and he knew well enough that
he owed his success to his fortune. He saw, too, that Montevarchi,
in giving him Flavia, had foreseen the possibility of his claiming
the rights of his cousins, and if he had not been thoroughly
satisfied with his choice he would have now felt that he had been
deceived. He had no regrets, however, for he felt that even had he
already enjoyed the titles and wealth he was so soon to claim, he
would nevertheless have chosen Flavia for his wife. Of all the
young girls he had seen in Rome she was the only one who really
attracted him; a fact due, perhaps, to her being more natural than
the rest, or at least more like what he thought a woman should
naturally be.
Pages:
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424