"
"When did they go?"
"Only yesterday. I came here at once to tell you, as you were so
very particular in recommending us to take care of her. It is not
our fault that she has gone. My wife was kindness itself to her,
and I always treated her like a duchess. I bought dinner-mats of
her sister; I even put up with the thieving and growling of the
disagreeable dog--"
"Where have they gone to? Have you found out that?"
"I have found out, by application at the passport-office, that
they have not left Florence--but what particular part of the city
they have removed to, I have not yet had time to discover."
"And pray why did they leave you, in the first place? Nanina is
not a girl to do anything without a reason. She must have had
some cause for going away. What was it?"
The little man hesitated, and made a fourth bow.
"You remember your private instructions to my wife and myself,
when you first brought Nanina to our house?" he said, looking
away rather uneasily while he spoke.
"Yes; you were to watch her, but to take care that she did not
suspect you. It was just possible, at that time, that she might
try to get back to Pisa without my knowing it; and everything
depended on her remaining at Florence. I think, now, that I did
wrong to distrust her; but it was of the last importance to
provide against all possibilities, and to abstain from putting
too much faith in my own good opinion of the girl.
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