But after a moment, also like a cat,
he opened them wide and stared coolly at his brother. "Out of the mouth
of babes----" he said impertinently. "My child, thou hast spoken much
wisdom! It is, after all, a proposition that has, possibly, sense in it.
_La Nina_ is a woman such as any man might be glad to make his wife, and
yet--this very fact that she is not an insignificant personality, is
what I object to! I doubt her developing into either a blinded saint or
a coquette with amiable complacence for others. We should lead a peppery
life, I fear. But don't you think, my brother, that we are a bit
hysterical over our family's extermination? After all, I am only
twenty-eight; and in my opinion thirty-five is a suitable age for a man
to marry. How old are you, Sandro--thirty-seven, is it not? And Leonora
is nearly three years less. Of a truth, you are young!"
He rested his cheek in the hollow of his hand, looking up sideways. "It
would be a great amusement if I should marry because I am the heir to
the estates, and then you should have a large family--so----" He made
steps with his unoccupied hand to indicate a succession of children.
Then he laughed, without seeming to consider the difference that the
birth of an heir to his brother would make to himself. He arose, lit a
cigarette, and, smoking, threw himself into an easy chair on the other
side of the room.
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