"Come!" he said in a faint whisper, "come to her
bedside: we have no time to lose. Get your hat, and leave it to
me to put out the lamp."
He hurriedly extinguished the light while he spoke. They went
down the studio side by side toward the door. The moonlight
streamed through the window full on the place where the priest
had been standing alone with the lamp in his hand. As they passed
it, Luca felt his brother tremble, and saw him turn away his
head.
. . . . . . . .
Two hours later, Fabio d'Ascoli and his wife were separated in
this world forever; and the servants of the palace were
anticipating in whispers the order of their mistress's funeral
procession to the burial-ground of the Campo Santo.
PART THIRD.
CHAPTER I.
About eight months after the Countess d'Ascoli had been laid in
her grave in the Campo Santo, two reports were circulated through
the gay world of Pisa, which excited curiosity and awakened
expectation everywhere.
The first report announced that a grand masked ball was to be
given at the Melani Palace, to celebrate the day on which the
heir of the house attained his majority. All the friends of the
family were delighted at the prospect of this festival; for the
old Marquis Melani had the reputation of being one of the most
hospitable, and, at the same time, one of the most eccentric men
in Pisa.
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