Romola . nd less patronizing in his manner thanTornabuoni, I could have wished your skill to havebeen employed in another way, for which it is stillbetter fitted. But now we must look out for someother man among us who will manage to get intothe confidence of our sworn enemies, the Arrab-biati; we need to know their movements more thanthose of the Prates party, who are strong enoughto play above-board. Still, it would have been adifficult thing for you, from your known relationswith the Medici a little while back, and that sortof kinship your wife has with Bernardo del must find a man
Romola . nd less patronizing in his manner thanTornabuoni, I could have wished your skill to havebeen employed in another way, for which it is stillbetter fitted. But now we must look out for someother man among us who will manage to get intothe confidence of our sworn enemies, the Arrab-biati; we need to know their movements more thanthose of the Prates party, who are strong enoughto play above-board. Still, it would have been adifficult thing for you, from your known relationswith the Medici a little while back, and that sortof kinship your wife has with Bernardo del must find a man who has no distinguished con-nections, and who has not yet taken any side. Tito was pushing his hair backward automati-cally, as his manner was, and looking straight atPucci with a scarcely perceptible smile on his lip. No need to look out for any one else, he saidpromptly. I can manage the whole business withperfect ease. I will engage to make myself thespecial confidant of that thick-headed Dolfo Spini,. OF THE A SUPPER IN THE RUCELLAI GARDENS. 205 and know his projects before he knows them him-self. Tito seldom spoke so confidently of his ownpowers, but he was in a state of exultation at thesudden opening of a new path before him, wherefortune seemed to have hung higher prizes thanany he had thought of hitherto. Hitherto he hadseen success only in the form of favour; it nowflashed on him in the shape of power, — of suchpower as is possible to talent without traditionalties and without beliefs. Each party that thoughtof him as a tool might become dependent on position as an alien, his indifference to theideas or prejudices of the men among whom hemoved, were suddenly transformed into advan-tages ; he became newly conscious of his own adroit-ness in the presence of a game that he was calledon to play. And all the motives which might havemade Tito shrink from the triple deceit that camebefore him as a tempting game had been slowlystrangled in him by the successive fal
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherbosto, bookyear1893
