She wished to be justifiably annoyed by
them, or him; but there was absolutely no cause. Cesare Orsi's
character and disposition were alike beyond reproach--transparent and
heroically optimistic. Since their marriage she had been insolent, she
had been both captious and continuously indifferent, without unsettling
the determined eager good-nature with which he met her moods.
During the week he went by launch into Naples in the interests of his
banking, and did not return for luncheon; and she had long
uninterrupted hours for the enjoyment of her pleasant domain.
Altogether, his demands upon her were reasonable to the point of self-
effacement. He laughed a great deal; this annoyed her youthful gravity
and she remonstrated sharply more than once, but he only leaned back
and laughed harder. Then she would either grow coldly disdainful or
leave the room, followed by the echo of his merriment. There was
something impervious, like armor, in his excellent humor. Apparently
she could not get through it to wound him as she would have liked; and
she secretly wondered.
He was prodigal in his generosity--the stores of the Via Roma were
prepared to empty themselves at her desire. Cesare Orsi's wife was a
figure of importance in Naples. She had been made welcome by the
Neapolitan society--lawn fetes had been given in villas under the
burnished leaves of magnolias on the height of Vomero. The Cavaliere
Nelli, Orsi's cousin and a retired colonel of Bersaglieri, entertained
lavishly at dinner on the terrace of Bertolini's; she went out to old
houses looking through aged and riven pines at the sea.
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