The open window which she hadobserved from below
was within a few feet of her. Inside the room was a bed, and somebody in thebed. By
daybreak I shall be many miles from Rome. Vanina came each night to press her face
against the panes of theyoung carbonaros window. The Duke addressed himthus:Tell the
truth, my friend.
Often she found her mouth filled with blood. I
shall know how to love and protect you.
Pietro fell at her feet; Vanina was radiant with
joy.
The Duchess appeared surprised, and, what was more,
annoyed. A reason quite unconnected with the point of honourhelped to determine the
Dukes action.
For a long timepast I have loved you more than life
itself. Will you be able tolove a girl who has lost her honour?
Pietro fell at her feet; Vanina was radiant with
joy. I swear to keep your secret, and, if youinsist on it, I will never come again.
I should be happy, Vanina said to her, to know your name. I shall stop atthe villa
we have at San Niccolo, close to Forli.
In her most reasonable moments, Vanina wasalarmed
by the change that was occurring in her ideas.
Several Princesses ofthe House of Medici died in
this way.
Theyhad to reply to fourteen separate charges. As
the soldierswere coming into her house to seize me, your father took me away inhis
carriage.
Never have you seemed so adorable, she cried; yes,
my littlecountry surgeon, I am yours for ever.
I am going to bring you a surgeon, said Vanina as
she embraced her.
Missirilli was indespair; he was afraid that he
would never see Vanina again.
Great as her folly may have been, it must be
admitted that Vanina wassublimely happy. The Duke addressed himthus:Tell the truth,
my friend.
A similarsilence on each of the days that
followed.
Missirilli said to Vanina with a visible air of
constraint:As soon as it is dark, I must go out. She asked whether there were an
order from the Duke, her husband,authorising her death. One could see the foreigners
who entered the room struck by themagnificence of this ball. She is alreadynineteen,
and has refused the most brilliant suitors. Diana had an amazing faculty of
invention;her passion made her eloquent. The windows of thisapartment looked on to a
terrace planted with orange trees.
Vanina fellon her knees, crying:I love you, I am
your devoted servant.
Diana had an amazing faculty of invention;her
passion made her eloquent.
The Duchess appeared surprised, and, what was more,
annoyed.
Acharitable soul conceived the idea of helping me
to escape. But the nobler your heart is, the better you mustunderstand me. Vanina
wept freely, and it was agreed that he should not leave Romeuntil the following
night.
She did not forget to give a report of what was
happening to MarcelloCapecce. The Duke had the two bodies flung into a sewer that
ran by theprison.