miscarry[276]
for me; but it resteth with thee to find a means of saving thy life
and mine.' 'Ricciardo,' answered she, 'thou seest how straitly I am
guarded; wherefore, for my part, I cannot see how thou mayst avail to
come at me; but, if thou canst see aught that I may do without shame
to myself, tell it me and I will do it.' Ricciardo, having bethought
himself of sundry things, answered promptly, 'My sweet Caterina, I can
see no way, except that thou lie or make shift to come upon the
gallery that adjoineth thy father's garden, where an I knew that thou
wouldst be anights, I would without fail contrive to come to thee, how
high soever it may be.' 'If thou have the heart to come thither,'
rejoined Caterina, 'methinketh I can well enough win to be there.'
Ricciardo assented and they kissed each other once only in haste and
went their ways.

[Footnote 276: Lit. stand (_stare_), _i.e._ abide undone.]

Next day, it being then near the end of May, the girl began to
complain before her mother that she had not been able to sleep that
night for the excessive heat. Quoth the lady, 'Of what heat dost thou
speak, daughter? Nay, it was nowise hot.' 'Mother mine,' answered
Caterina, 'you should say "To my seeming," and belike you would say
sooth; but you should consider how much hotter are young girls than
ladies in years.' 'Daughter mine,' rejoined the lady, 'that is true;
but I cannot make it cold and hot at my pleasure, as belike thou
wouldst have me do. We must put up with the weather, such as the
seasons make it; maybe this next night will be cooler and thou wilt
sleep better.' 'God grant it may be so!' cried Caterina. 'But it is
not usual for the nights to go cooling, as it groweth towards summer.'
'Then what wouldst thou have done?' asked the mother; and she
answered, 'An it please my father and you, I would fain have a little
bed made in the gallery, that is beside his chamber and over his
garden, and there sleep. There I should hear the nightingale sing and
having a cooler place to lie in, I should fare much better than in
your chamber.' Quoth the mother, 'Daughter, comfort thyself; I will
tell thy father, and as he will, so will we do.'

Messer Lizio hearing all this from his wife, said, for that he was an
old man and maybe therefore somewhat cross-grained, 'What nightingale
is this to whose song she would sleep? I will yet make her sleep to
the chirp of the crickets.' Caterina, coming to know this, more of
despite t