From an O. Henry short story, "Roads of Destiny":
"I am positive that never during the eleventh and thirteenth centuries did Baron, Troubadour, and Worker amalgamate as harmoniously as their parallels did that evening at old man Ellison's sheep ranch."

O. Henry has a way with words. This use of "amalgamate"
seems just right to me. A dentist takes silver powder, adds
a bit of liquid mercury, and with only a minimum of coaxing the two unite into a substance with new and valuable properties.

More O. Henry:
The poet's fingers trembled as he tied the contrary ribbons. Then he
would have fled from the danger of her presence, but the eyes grew
long and cozening, like a gypsy's, and held him. He leaned against the
balustrade, clutching his bottle of sour wine.

Yeahbut®, what happened to the twelfth century?

Odd things happen only in odd centuries.

O. Henry could have benefited from a good editor's emendations. I had hoped someone would question his use
of "cozening" in a way that differes from the ones given by my dictionary.
coz[en 7kuz4!n8
vt., vi.
5< ME cosin, fraud, trickery < ? OFr cosson, horse-trader < L cocio, coctio, a broker, dealer6
1 to cheat; defraud
2 to deceive

What definition would you choose?

what happened to the twelfth century?

maybe he was dodecaphobic...

>What definition would you choose?

3 : to bring about, induce, or obtain by artful wheedling.. [W3] (like a gypsy)

Dear tsuwm: "wheedling" is very close. But only inferiors who expect to be rejected wheedle. The countess was very conscious of her power to influence men, and was exerting it. Something more elegant than pussy whipping.

Disagree. "Wheedling" is something that one does when one wants something that one is not entitled to and cannot force the other party to give. It is not related to inferior/superior status. The duchess may well have needed to wheedle to get what she wanted!