Part 36 (1/2)
”Has been deceived, as have many others, in regard to the true character and standing of this so-called Roman n.o.bleman.”
”And is he not a n.o.bleman?”
”Once more I must refuse to answer any question in regard to him. I can only tell you to beware and shun him as you would a venomous serpent.”
”Esperance, I love him!”
”Love him!--you love him, Zuleika! Oh! this is, indeed, torture!”
The young man dropped his sister's hand and flung himself upon a divan.
He was a prey to the most intense excitement.
Zuleika, deeply affected to see him thus, and remembering Giovanni's mysterious behavior, together with his strange and ominous words, when she had questioned him in regard to his quarrel with Esperance, felt for a moment shaken and uncertain. She also recollected that, at the time of the inexplicable difficulty between the two young men, she had heard rumors to the effect that a youthful member of the Roman aristocracy had abducted a beautiful peasant girl, in which affair he had been a.s.sisted by the notorious brigand Luigi Vampa; the matter, however, had almost immediately been hushed up and she had learned none of the circ.u.mstances. Could it be possible that Giovanni Ma.s.setti was the youthful aristocrat alluded to by the gossips and scandalmongers of the Eternal City--that he was the abductor of the unfortunate peasant girl?
She could not entertain such an idea, and yet that abduction, in spite of all her efforts, would a.s.sociate itself with her Italian lover in her mind.
She arose from her chair and, going to the divan, seated herself beside Esperance, determined to make a final attempt to draw his secret from him. Throwing her arms tenderly about his neck she said, in a coaxing tone:
”If any sound reason exists why I should not love Giovanni Ma.s.setti, and you know it, your plain duty as my brother is to tell me. Will you not tell me, Esperance?”
Instead of replying, the young man buried his face in his hands and fairly sobbed in his anguish. Zuleika was filled with pity for him, and, as she gazed at him, tears came into her eyes; but still bent on discovering the nature of the obstacle that had so suddenly loomed up between Giovanni and herself, she continued after a pause, in the same coaxing voice:
”Esperance, I am no longer a child and should not be treated as one.
What I ask of you is only reasonable and just. If I stand on the brink of a gulf I cannot see, it is your duty to inform me not only of my danger but also of its nature. Am I not right?”
Heaving a deep sigh, Esperance replied:
”Yes, you are right, Zuleika; it is my duty to tell you all--and yet I cannot!”
”At least, tell me why you are compelled to maintain silence on a matter of so much importance.”
”Did you question the Viscount?”
”I did.”
”And what answer did he return?”
”Like you, he refused to answer.”
”Ah! then he has some sense of shame left!”
”Shame?”
”Yes, shame! And what did you do when he refused to speak?”
”I left him.”
”And you will not see him again?”