You shall show me the house, and I will take the boy." Pietro was glad to hear this.

It shifted the responsibility from his shoulders, and he was privately convinced that Mrs.McGuire would prove a more formidable antagonist than the padrone imagined.

Whichever way it turned out, he would experience a feeling of satisfaction.

If the padrone got worsted, it would show that he, Pietro, need not be ashamed of his defeat.

If Mrs.McGuire had to surrender at discretion, he would rejoice in her discomfiture.