The Genoese--themselves a self-contained people, and hypocritical, if
not virtuous--made less than a nine days' wonder of him, he was so
engagingly shameless, so frankly glad to have exchanged Corsica for
the fleshpots. There was talk that in a few days he would make
formal and public resignation of his crown in the great hall of the
Bank of Saint George. Meanwhile, he flaunted it in the streets, the
shops, the theatres. His very publicity baulked us. We tracked him
daily--his sister and I, in our peasant dress; but found never a
chance to surprise him alone. His eyes, which rested nowhere, never
detected us.
We hunted him together, not consulting Marc'antonio and Stephanu, but
rather agreeing to keep them out of the way. Indeed I divined that
the Princess's anxiety to hold him in sight was due in some degree to
her fear of these two and what they might intend. For my part, I
watched them of an evening, at Messer' Fazio's board, expecting some
sign of jealousy. But it appeared that they had resigned her to me,
and were content to be excluded from our counsels.
Another thing puzzled me.
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