After dinner the tailor who was to measure the countess for a domino for the ball was announced.  On the marquis’s praising the colours and the beauty of the materials, she told him that I had brought her the sarcenet from Turin, and this reminded her to ask me whether I had been paid.

“Your husband settled with me,” said I, “but you have given me a lesson I can never forget.”

“What lesson?” said the marquis.

“I had hoped that the countess would have deigned to receive this poor present at my hands.”

“And she wouldn’t take it?  It’s absurd, on my life.”

“There is nothing to laugh at,” said the countess, “but you laugh at everything.”

While the man was measuring her, she complained of feeling cold, as she was in her stays, and her beautiful breast was exposed.  Thereupon, the marquis put his hands on it, as if he were quite accustomed to use such familiarities.  But the Spaniard, no doubt ashamed because of my presence, got into a rage, and abused him in the most awful manner, while he laughed pleasantly, as if he could calm the storm when he pleased.  This was enough to inform me of the position in which they stood to one another, and of the part I ought to take.

We remained together till the evening, when the countess and the marquis went to the opera, and the count came with me to my room, till my carriage was ready to take us there too.  The opera had begun when we got in, and the first person I noticed on the stage was my dear Therese Palesi, whom I had left at Florence.  It was a pleasant surprise to me, and I foresaw that we should renew our sweet interviews while I remained at Milan I was discreet enough to say nothing to the count about his wife’s charms, or the way their house was managed.  I saw that the place was taken, and the odd humours of the lady prevented my falling in love with her.  After the second act we went to the assembly rooms, where five or six banks at faro were being held; I staked and lost a hundred ducats as if to pay for my welcome, and then rose from the table.

At supper the countess seemed to unbend a little, she condoled with me on my loss, and I said that I was glad of it as it made her speak so.

Just as I rang my bell the next morning, Clairmont told me that a woman wanted to speak to me.

“Is she young?”

“Both young and pretty, sir.”

“That will do nicely, shew her in.”

I saw a simply dressed girl, who reminded me of Leah.  She was tall and beautiful, but had not as high pretensions as the Jewess; as she only wanted to know whether she could do my washing for me.  I was quite taken with her.  Clairmont had just brought me my chocolate, and I asked her to sit down on the bed; but she answered modestly that she did not want to trouble me, and would come again when I was up.

“Do you live at any distance?”

“I live on the ground floor of this house.”