Almost subconsciously she folded the sheet and hid it in her dress.
Kneeling before the safe she procured a long red envelope. It contained
the sum of money her father had given her at the wedding. It was her
dot--a comparatively small amount, he had said at the time with an
apologetic smile; but it was absolutely, unquestionably her own. This,
when she locked the safe, remained outside.
When she had hidden the letter and envelope in her dressing table
Cesare stood in the doorway. He was still pale, but composed, and held
himself with simple dignity.
"Some men," he said, "are not so happy, even for an hour."
A sudden passionate necessity to save him swept over her.
In the morning Orsi remained at the villa, but he sent the launch in
early with an urgent summons for the Cavaliere Nelli. Later, when he
asked for Lavinia, he was told that she had gone to Naples; and when
the boat returned, Nelli--a military figure, with hair and mustache
like yellowish white silk--assisted her to the wall. She was closely
veiled against the sparkling flood of light and bay, and hurried
directly to her room.
There she knelt on a praying chair before a small alcoved altar with
tall wax tapers, and remained a long while. She was disturbed by a
sudden ringing report below; it was Cesare practising with a dueling
pistol. Lavinia remembered, from laughing comments in Florence, that
her husband was an atrocious shot. The sound was repeated at irregular
intervals through an unbearably long morning.
Pages:
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146