She had never felt any
sympathy for the brother who was so much older than herself, and who
took a view of things which seemed to her sordid, and she did not like
to see him sitting in her father's place, often talking of the house as
if it were already his, and dictating to her upon matters of conduct as
well as upon questions of taste. Everything he said jarred on her, but
as yet she had no idea that he had any plans against Zorzi, and being of
a reserved character she often took no trouble to answer what he said,
except to bend her head a little to acknowledge that he had said it.
When she was alone with her father, she loved to sit with him after
supper in the big room, working by the clear light of the olive oil
lamp, while he sat in his great chair and talked to her of his work. He
had told her far more than he realised of his secret processes as well
as of his experiments, and she had remembered it, for she alone of his
children had inherited his true love and understanding of the noble art
of glass-making.
But now that he was away, Giovanni generally spent the evening in
instructing his wife how to save money, and she listened meekly enough
to what he told her, for she was a modest little woman, of colourless
character, brought up to have no great opinion of herself, though her
father was a rich merchant; and she looked upon her husband as belonging
to a superior class.
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