CHAPTER II
Suspicion
The Marchese Ludovico told the lawyer that he would go immediately tothe magistrates and make a voluntary statement of all that he knew ofthe circumstances connected with Bianca's death; and he fully purposeddoing so. But he did not do it immediately. There was another visitwhich he was more anxious to pay; and which the hint that had droppedfrom the old lawyer to the effect that it was very probable he might notpass that night in his own home, determined him to pay first at allhazards.
This visit, as may readily be imagined, was to Paolina. And to themodest little home in the Strada di Santa Eufemia he hurried as fast ashis legs would carry him, as soon as he quitted Signor Fortini. Paolina,on returning home after her conversation with the Contessa Violante inthe Cardinal's chapel, had remained there busy with the preparation ofher materials for beginning her work at Saint Apollinare on thefollowing day.
She looked up as he entered the room with an arch smile on her lips andin her eyes which, perhaps, did not reflect altogether faithfully thefeeling in her heart.
"Yes, I saw you, you naughty, inconstant boy, when you little thought myeye was upon you. I saw you with--Ludovico, there is something wrong,"she said, suddenly changing her laughing tone for one of alarm as hereye marked the expression of his face. "I am sure from the way you lookat me there is something amiss. What is it, Ludovico mio? What hashappened to vex you?"
"A great and terrible misfortune has happened, my Paolina; and I haverun to you in all haste that you might not hear it from any lips but myown. You were going to say just now that you saw me with Bianca Lalli,were you not? Where and when did you see us?"
"In a bagarino, driving towards the Pineta. I was up at a high window inthe church on the scaffolding prepared for my work," said Paolina,deadly pale, and breathless with apprehension.
"Ah! you saw us from the window. I took her there at her request to seethe Pineta. We started on leaving the ball-room. In the forest shebecame sleepy: I left her sleeping on a bank, and meaning to return toher in a few minutes. I could not find the spot again for some time; andwhen I did find it she was gone. After searching the wood in vain forhours I returned to the city, and--at the gate--not an hour ago--I sawher brought in--dead!"
"Dead! La Bianca dead!" cried Paolina, much shocked; and with everyvestige of the half-formed suspicions which had been tormenting hersuddenly erased from her mind by the terrible tidings and the sadness ofthe end of the unfortunate Diva.
"Dead, my Paolina; and I am suspected of having murdered her," he saidslowly, and with an accent of profound despair.
"What--what! You suspected! By whom? What does it mean? La Biancamurdered--and by you. What does it mean, Ludovico mio? For pity's sake,tell me, what does it mean?"
And the pale features began to work, and the large deep eyes filled withtears, and the neat moment she fell back into a chair sobbinghysterically.
"I was the last person with whom she was seen alive; and--there was, itseems, strong reason why it may be supposed that I should wish herdead--God help me! I learned this morning--the poor girl told meherself, to my extreme surprise--that my uncle, the Marchese Lamberto,had proposed marriage to her. You can understand, my darling, that sucha marriage would be a very dreadful misfortune to me: therefore, peoplethink that I put the unhappy girl to death."
"Oh, my love, my love; come to me, come to me, and let me hold you!"said the poor girl, struggling to speak amid her convulsive sobbing, andholding out her hands towards him. "Oh, my Ludovico, this is verydreadful. But it is impossible--impossible! They will know that it isimpossible that you could have done such a thing. Murder! You--murder adefenceless girl! Oh, it is nonsense. Nobody will believe anything somonstrous."
"Thanks, my Paolina--thanks, my own darling. At least there is one heartthat knows me. And, my Paolina, it is an immense comfort to me--not thatI doubted it for an instant--but it is an infinite comfort to me to knowthat you, at least in your heart of hearts, are certain that I didnot--that it never could have entered into my mind to do this thing."
"I believe it! I could just as soon imagine that I myself had done it.But, Ludovico, my beloved, it will not be believed; it is too monstrous.You are known here; it cannot be believed."
"And yet, my Paolina, one who has known me all my life, who was myfather's friend--one who knows me well, and who looks at things as themagistrates will look at them--he believes it; believes it so much, andis so certain that others will believe it, that he strongly urged me toescape from the city, and from the country. That, Paolina, knowing myinnocence, I would not do. To save myself from the stake I would nothave gone away without telling you, my own one, that I had not done thisdeed. I could not go, and so leave you--"
"My own--my own! How I love you, my Ludovico, now in the time of thisgreat trouble better than ever I did before. There was no need to tellme, my love, that your hands are innocent of murder. But surely--surelyyou did well not to fly, leaving the hideous accusation behind you."
"So I thought, my own love--my own high-minded right-thinkingdarling--so I thought; and here I stay to answer my accusers. But thefatality of the circumstances is such that--in truth, I see little hopeof clearing myself, save by the possible discovery of the causes thatled to this terrible death."
"Was there anything to show how she--that is, I mean, whether she--diedby violence?" asked Paolina.
"Nothing--nothing whatever. As we saw the body under the city gateway,when the men who found it brought it in, there was not the smallesttrace of violence visible. She lay as if, save for the deadly pallor ofher face, she might have been still sleeping. And I am most anxious forthe medical examination of the body. It may be that they will be able todiscover that death was produced by some natural cause."
"Surely that is the most likely. Had any robbery been committed?" askedPaolina thoughtfully.
"None--none whatever; and she had valuables exposed on her person whichwere untouched. This is one of the worst circumstances against me; as itexcludes the idea of the dead having been done by common malefactors forthe sake of plunder."
"And no marks of violence? It must have been a natural death; suchthings do happen. I remember hearing of a case-"
"I must go, darling; I must leave you. I must hasten to the Palazzo delGoverno to make my statement of what has occurred. It is hard to leaveyou, my Paolina--very hard to leave you, not knowing when or under whatcircumstances I am likely to see you again."
"Ludovico, see me again!" shrieked the girl, as a new and dreadful ideapresented itself for the first time to her mind; "why--you will come tome when you have spoken to the magistrates; you will tell me what theysay."
"I fear me, Paolina, that it will not be in my power to do that,"returned Ludovico, with a melancholy smile. "Should they leave me atliberty, of course I shall fly to you on the instant they dismiss me.But, you must not expect that, my love. I shall be detained doubtless,until--until the truth has been discovered respecting this horribletragedy. One kiss my own, own darling before we part."
She sprang into his opened arms with a bound; almost before the wordshad quitted his lips, and clasped him to her heart with all the strengthshe could exert. Then drawing herself a little back, and placing her twolittle hands on the front of his shoulders; she said, speaking withbreathless hurry,--"See now, my love, my only love. You must rememberall the time, that there is no hour of the day or night that I shall notbe thinking of you, and loving you all the time, always, always. Andremember, that if all the whole world says that you did this thing, Ishall still know that it was as impossible as that I did it myself.Remember that always, my best beloved."
"Thanks, my Paolina; it will be very sweet to me to remember it. Anddearest, one thing more. It will hardly be likely that in the presentcircumstances, under all this weight of misfortune, my poor uncle willbe likely to have time or attention to give to you, But if you have needof anything--of advice, of assistance, of protection--speak to theContessa Violante, and--stay, you shall take
a message to her from me.Tell her that I begged you to say, as from me to her, that in the teethof all appearances I am innocent in thought, word, and deed in thismatter. I think she will believe it; I must go, my love, my own!"
"Pray God, it be not for long, tesoro mio. I shall pray to the HolyVirgin for you morning and night."
"Addio, Paolina mia. Yet one kiss, anima mia, addio,"
From the Strada di Santa Eufemia Ludovico hurried as quickly as he couldto the Palazzo del Governo; but found that he was not in time to be thefirst bearer to the police magistrate of the tidings of what hadhappened. The report of the officials at the gate had already been givenin, and the police had already taken possession of the body.
The magistrate received him with grave courtesy, saying that he was gladthe Signor Marchese had presented himself in order to throw what lighthe could on this sad affair, as rumour had already reached his (themagistrate's) ears mixing the name of the Marchese Ludovico with thesubject in a manner that would have made it his duty to call theMarchese, had he not of himself judged it right to anticipate the actionof justice in the matter.
Then Ludovico related clearly and shortly how the excursion to thePineta had been imagined and planned between him and Bianca at the ball;how they had put their plan into execution; how he had left her sleepingin the forest; and had been unable to find her again; how he hadreturned, after spending much time in fruitless seeking, and had shortlyafterwards, being then in the company of Signor Giovacchino Fortini,seen the dead body of the unfortunate lady brought into the city by menwho had discovered it in the forest.
The magistrate listened attentively to this history in silence, savethat he once or twice interrupted Ludovico to ask at what o'clock it hadbeen that the different incidents happened. Then he reduced the wholestatement to writing, and read it over to the Marchesino.
"Your lordship parted then from Signor Fortini, after witnessing in hiscompany the arrival of the corpse at the gate, nearly an hour ago. Youdid not come to make your report to us here at once? I must ask you howyou have employed the interval?" said the magistrate shooting a sharpglance from under his black eyebrows at Ludovico, who was sittingopposite to him, with a little table between them, on which there werewriting-materials.
"In visiting a lady, to whom I was very anxious to tell theseunfortunate circumstances myself, instead of allowing them to come toher ears in any other manner," answered Ludovico simply.
"The lady's name? I ask in confidence, you know; unless of course thefact should turn out to have any bearing on the discovery of the truthas to this most unhappy business."
"The lady is the Signorina Paolina Foscarelli, a Venetian artist senthere to make copies of some of our mosaics, and recommended to my unclethe Marchese Lamberto."
"With whom you had no acquaintance previous to her bringing thatrecommendation?"
"None whatever."
"But since that time you have become intimate with her?"
"It is true."
"Signor Marchese, this is a most lamentable and unhappy affair. It is myduty to point out to you, what doubtless your own good sense has alreadysuggested to you--that the mere facts, as you have related them to me,place you in a very unfortunate position. But most unhappily--it isexceedingly painful to me to have to say it--there is, if what hasalready reached my ears be true, worse, much worse behind. I am obligedto ask you what conversation, of a special nature, passed between youand Bianca Lalli during your excursion?"
"I will make no pretence at not understanding your question, Signor, norany attempt to conceal the truth. I have already stated the facts; orthat, which you have evidently heard, could not have reached your ears.The Signorina Bianca Lalli confided to me the fact, that my uncle theMarchese Lamberto had offered marriage to her."
"Most lamentable, and to be regretted in every way," said themagistrate, gravely shaking his head. "You perceive, Signor Marchese,the terrible, but inevitable suggestion, that arises from the fact ofyour having been made aware of a purpose so disastrous to yourinterests?"
"I call your attention, Signor, again to the fact, that nothing wouldhave been known of any such communication having been made to me, had Inot spontaneously mentioned the circumstance myself."
"It is true, Signor Marchese, and it will not be forgotten that thiscircumstance was spontaneously mentioned by you. But you must observe,that the fact of the proposal made by the Marchese Lamberto would havebecome known in more ways than one. And unhappily the fact that such aproposal had been made, would throw a very disagreeable light on theextraordinary circumstances of this death. To whom would the death ofthis unfortunate woman be profitable? That is the fatal question, SignorMarchese, which it is impossible to avoid asking."
"I am aware of the cruelty of the inference suggested by thecircumstance, Signor Commissario," said Ludovico sadly.
"Have you any suggestion to offer yourself as to the possible means bywhich this woman may have met with her death?" asked the Commissary ofPolice.
"As far as I could see at the city gate, and according to the statementof the men who found the body, there was no indication of violencewhatever to be found on it. My suggestion therefore, and my trust is,that the cause of her death was a natural one:"
"That will be a question for the medical authorities to decide," saidthe Commissary.
"I was about to ask you whether they had proceeded to any examinationyet?" said Ludovico.
"Not yet; we shall have the report immediately; and it shall be at oncecommunicated to you."
"At the Palazzo Castelmare?" said Ludovico, though he had but verylittle hope that he should be allowed to remain at large.
The Commissary shook his head very gravely.
"I need hardly tell you, Signor Marchese, how painful it is to me to becompelled to announce to you that we cannot find it consistent with ourduty to allow you under the circumstances to quit this building. Theutmost that can be done to make your detention as little uncomfortableto you as possible, shall be done. And I can only say that I trust itmay be but for a short time."
"Permit me to observe, Signor Commissario, that after seeing the deadbody at the gate, to say nothing of all the hours previously, if I hadbeen guilty,--I had abundance of time to escape, and to place myselfbeyond the reach of the Papal authorities, before I could have beenovertaken. I might have done so, but did not. Might not that be held tojustify you in allowing me to retain my liberty until the course of yourinquiries may again require my presence?"
"I fear not, Signor Marchese, I fear not. The fact that such a crime hasbeen committed throws a terrible responsibility upon us. As to your nothaving availed yourself of opportunity to escape, I may remark that youmay have been detained, not so much by your desire of meeting inquiry,as of having the interview, of which you told me just now. You say thatyou came directly from the Signorina Foscarelli's dwelling hither. Atthat time it was too late for hope of escape. I fear, Signor Marchese,it will not be consistent with my duty to allow you to depart."
So Ludovico was conducted to a very sufficiently comfortable chamberreserved for similar occasions, and found himself a prisoner, waitingtrial on suspicion of murder.