The excuse that Caterina gave her parents—her desire to listen to the nightingales singing—is revealed to be a double entendre when her parents discover her in bed with Ricciardo. Giacomina’s initial reaction responds to the loss of honor incurred by Caterina’s act of premarital sex, but her husband wisely keeps his head and looks at the situation rationally. Since it wasn’t until the mid-16th century that the Roman Catholic Church declared that both priest and witnesses were necessary for weddings, the couple’s exchange of vows in the presence of her parents is sufficient to make a binding marriage. And the tale’s final lines, which reference the nightingale again but also point to a mutually satisfying sex life for the pair, emphasize the power and importance of sex in well-matched relationships.