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hyouneithershenorGiuliaareabitbetterthantheyshouldbe.I'mtoldGiulia'slatestloverisAmtrogiodellaTreccia.ItseemsonedayhewasalmostcaughtbyoldBartolomeo,andhadtoslipoutofthewindowandperformfeatsworthyofaprofessionalacrobattogetoutoftheway.' 'Idon'tthinkIattachbelieftoallthescandalcirculatingonthesubjectofthatlady.' 'You'renotinlovewithher?'askedMatteo,quickly. Ilaughed. 'Certainlynot.Butstill—' 'That'sallrightbecause,ofcourse,youknowit'snotoriousthatshehashadthemostdisgracefulamours.Andshehasn'tevenkeptthemtoherownclassallsortsofpeoplehaveenjoyedherfavours.' 'ShedoesnotlookverymuchlikeaMessalina,'Isaid,sneeringalittle. 'Honestly,Filippo,Idothinksheisreallyverylittlebetterthanaharlot.' 'Youareextremelycharitable,'Isaid.'Butdon'tyouthinkyouaresomewhatprejudicedbythefactthatyouyourselfdidnotfindherone.Besides,hercharactermakesnoparticulardifferencetomeIreallycarenothingifshe'sgoodorbadsheisagreeable,andthatisallIcareabout.Sheisnotgoingtobemywife.' 'Shemaymakeyouveryunhappyyouwon'tbethefirst.' 'Whatafoolyouare!'Isaid,alittleangrily.'YouseemtothinkthatbecauseIgoandseeawomanImustbedyingofloveforher.Youareabsurd.' Ilefthim,andsoonfoundmyselfatthePalazzoAste,whereDonnaGiuliawaswaitingforme.Ihadbeentose