in a bad humour. Laura went promptly to him and kissed his
hand. Caesar bowed, and as the Cardinal did not deign to look at him,
remained standing, at some distance from the table.

Laura, after having saluted her uncle as a pillar of the Church, talked
to him as a relative. The Cardinal cast a rapid glance at Caesar, and
then, scowling somewhat less, asked him if his mother was well and if he
expected to be long in Rome.

Caesar, vexed by this frigid reception, answered shortly in a few cold
words, that all of them were well.

The Cardinal's secretary, who was by the window assisting at the
interview, shot angry looks at Caesar.

After a brief audience, which could not have lasted over five minutes,
the Cardinal said, addressing Laura:

"Pardon me, my daughter, but I must go on with my work"; and
immediately, without a look at his nephew or his niece, he called the
secretary, who brought him a portfolio of papers.

Caesar opened the glass door for Laura to pass.

"Would you like to see the palace?" Preciozi asked them. "There are some
antique statues, magnificent marbles, and a chapel where Saint Aniceto's
body is preserved."

"Let's leave Saint Aniceto's body for another day," Caesar replied
sardonically.

Laura and Caesar went down the stairway.

"There was no need to come, to behave like that," she said, upset.

"How so?"

"How so! You behaved like a savage, no more nor less." "No, he was the
one that behaved like a savage. I bowed to him, and he wasn't willing
even to look at me."

"You made up for it by staring at him as if he had been some curious
insect in a cage."

"It was his fault for not being even barely polite to me."

"Do you think that a Cardinal is an ordinary person to whom you say:
'Hello! How are you? How's business?'"

"I met an English Cabinet Minister in a club once and he was like
anybody else."

"It's not the same thing."

"Do you believe that perhaps our uncle considers that he fulfils a
providential mission, a divine mission?"

"What a question! Of course he does."

"Then he is a poor idiot. However, it's nothing to me. Our uncle is a
stupid fool."

"You discovered that in such a little while?"

"Yes. Fanatical, vain, fatuous, pleased with himself.... He is of no use
to me."

"Ah, so you thought he would be of some use to you?"

"Why not?"

Her brother's arbitrary manner of taking things irritated and at the
same time amused Laura.

She believed that he mad