Days had lengthened into weeks, and it was already the end of February.
In Florence, as in London, February is not the most enjoyable time of
the year, and those who travel south to the Winter City expecting the
sunshine and warmth of the Riviera are usually sadly disappointed. At
the end of March Florence becomes pleasant, and remains so till the end
of May; while in autumn, when the mosquitoes cease to trouble, the sun
has lost its power, and the Lungarno is cool, it is also a delightful
place of residence. But February afternoons beside the Arno are very
often as dark, as dreary, and as yellow as beside the Thames; and as
Gemma sat after luncheon in her cosy room, the smallest in the great old
palazzo in the Borgo d'Albizzi which bore her name, she shuddered and
drew a silken shawl about her shoulders. It was one of the show-places
of Florence; one of those ponderous, prison-like buildings built of huge
blocks of brown stone, time-worn, having weathered the storms of five
centuries, and notable as containing a magnificent collection of works
of art. Its mediaeval exterior, a relic of ancient Florence, was gloomy
and forbidding enough, with its barred windows, over-hanging roof,
strange lanterns of wonderfully worked iron, and great iron rings to
which men tied their horses in days bygone. Once beyond the great
courtyard, however, it was indeed a gorgeous palace. The Funaros had
always been wealthy and powerful in the Lily City, and had through ages
collected within their palace quantities of antiquities and costly
objects. Every room was beautifully decorated, some with wonderful
frescoes by Andrea del Sarto, whose work in the outer court of the
Annunziata is ever admired by sight-seers of every nationality, while
the paintings were by Ciro Ferri, Giovanni da Bologna, Filippo Lippi,
Botticelli, and Fra Bartolommeo, together with some frescoes in
grisaille with rich ornamentation by Del Sarto's pupil Franciabigio, and
hosts of other priceless works.
It was a magnificent residence. There were half a dozen other palaces
in the same thoroughfare, including the Altoviti, the Albizzi, and the
Pazzi, but this was the finest of them all. When Gemma had inherited it
she had at once furnished half a dozen rooms in modern style. The place
was so enormous that she always felt lost in it, and seldom strayed
beyond these rooms which overlooked the great paved courtyard with its
ancient wall and curious sculptures chipped and weather-worn. The great
gloomy silent rooms, with their bare oaken floors, mouldering
tapestries, and time-blackened pictures, were to her grim and ghostly,
as, indeed, they were to any but an art enthusiast or a lover of the
antique. But the Contessa Funaro lived essentially in the present, and
always declared herself more in love with cleanliness than antiquarian
dirt. She had no taste for the relics of the past, and affected none.
If English or American tourists found anything in the collections to
admire, they were at liberty to do so on presenting their card to the
liveried hall-porter. At the door the man had a box, and the money
placed therein was sent regularly each quarter to the Maternity
Hospital.
She spent little time in her grim, silent home; for truth to tell, its
magnificence irritated her, and its extent always filled her with a
sense of loneliness. The housekeeper, an elderly gentlewoman who had
been a friend of her dead mother's, was very deaf, and never amusing;
therefore, after a fortnight or so, she was generally ready to exchange
the Funaro Palace for the _Hotel Cavour_ at Milan, the _Minerva_ at
Rome, or the hospitality of some country villa. Hotels, or even small
houses, were not so grim and prison-like as her own great palazzo, the
very walls of which seemed to breathe mutely of the past--of those
troublous times when the clank of armour echoed in the long stone
corridors, and the clink of spurs sounded in the courtyard below where
now the only invaders were the pigeons.
The furniture of the small elegant room in which she sat was entirely
modern, upholstered in pale blue silk, with her monogram in gold thread;
the carpets were thick, the great high Florentine stove threw forth a
welcome warmth, and the grey light which filtered through the curtains
was just sufficient to allow her to read. She was lying back in her
long chair in a lazy, negligent attitude, her fair hair a trifle
disordered by contact with the cushion behind her head; and one of her
little slippers having fallen off, her small foot in its neat black silk
stocking peeped out beneath her skirt. On the table at her elbow were
two or three unopened letters, while in a vase stood a fine bouquet of
flowers, a tribute from her deaf housekeeper.
Since the day she had parted from Count Castellani in the hall of the
Embassy in Grosvenor Square she had travelled a good deal. She had been
down to Rome, had had an interview with the Marquis Montelupo, and a
week ago had unexpectedly arrived at the palazzo. As she had
anticipated, when she broke her journey at Turin, on her way from London
to Rome, and signed her name in the visitors' book at the hotel, a
police official called early on the following morning to inform her that
she must consider herself under arrest. But the words scribbled by
Montelupo upon his visiting-card had acted like magic, and, having taken
the card to the Questura, the detective returned all bows and apologies,
and she was allowed to proceed on her journey.
Nearly nine months had elapsed since she last set foot within her great
old palazzo, and as she sat that afternoon she allowed her book to fall
upon her lap and her eyes to slowly wander around the pretty room. She
glanced at the window where the rain was being driven upon the tiny
panes by the boisterous wind, and again she shuddered.
With an air of weariness she raised her hand and pushed the mass of fair
hair off her brow, as if its weight oppressed her, sighing heavily. The
events of the past month had been many and strange. In Rome she had
found herself beset by a hundred pitfalls, but she had kept faith with
the Marquis, and the terms she had made with him were such as to give
her complete satisfaction. A crisis, however, was, she knew, imminent;
a crisis in which she would be compelled to play a leading part. But to
do so would require all her ingenuity, all her woman's wit, all her
courage, all her skill at deception.
Suddenly, as she was thus reflecting, Margherita, her faithful but ugly
woman, who had been with her at Livorno, opened the door, and, drawing
aside the heavy _portiere_, said--
"The signore!"
"At last I at last!" she cried, excitedly jumping up instantly. "Show
him up at once." Then, facing the great mirror, she placed both hands
to her hair, rearranging it deftly, recovered her lost slipper, cast
aside the wrap, and stood ready to receive her visitor.
Again the door opened. The man who entered was Charles Armytage.
For a few moments he held her in fond embrace, kissing her lips tenderly
again and again; while she, in that soft, crooning voice that had rung
in his ears through all those months of separation, welcomed him,
reiterating her declarations of love.
"I received your telegram in Brussels two days ago, and have come to you
direct," he said at last. "I did not go to the Post Office every day,
hence the delay."
"Ah! my poor Nino must be tired," she cried, suddenly recollecting.
"Here, this couch. Sit here; it will rest you. Povero Nino! What a
terrible journey--from Brussels to Florence!"
He sank upon the divan she indicated, pale, weary, and travel-worn,
while she, taking a seat beside him, narrated how she had left
Lyddington for London, and afterwards travelled to Rome. Feeling that
the glance of the woman he worshipped was fixed upon him, he raised his
head; and then their eyes met for a moment with an expression of
infinite gentleness, the mournful gentleness of their heroic love.
"Why did you go to Rome?" he asked. "You always said you hated it."
"I had business," she answered. "Urgent business; business which has
again aroused hope within me."
"Still of a secret nature?" the young Englishman hazarded, with a quick
glance of suspicion.
"For the present, yes," she replied in a low, intense voice. "But you
still love me, Nino? You can trust me now, can't you?" and she looked
earnestly into his face.
"I have already trusted you," he replied. "Since that night I left you
at Lyddington my life has indeed been a dull, aimless one. You have
been ever in my mind, and I have wondered daily, hourly, what was the
nature of the grave mysterious peril which you say threatens both of
us."
"That peril still exists," she answered. "It increases daily, nay
hourly."
"You are still threatened? You, the wealthy owner of this magnificent
palazzo!" he exclaimed, gazing around the pretty room bewildered.
"Often when I was in Florence, in those days when we first met, I passed
this great building. Little, however, did I dream that my Gemma, who
used to cycle with me in the Cascine, was its owner."
She laughed. "I had reasons for not letting you know my real name," she
replied. "It is true that I have money; but wealth has brought me no
happiness--only sorrow, alas!--until I met you."
"And now you are happy?" he asked earnestly. "Ah! yes, I am happy when
you are beside me, Nino," she responded, grasping his hand in hers. "I
never thought that I could learn to love you so. I am still nervous,
still in dread, it is true. The reason of my fear is a strange one; I
fear the future, and I fear myself."
"Yourself?" he echoed. "You told me that once before--long ago. You
are not very formidable."
"Ah, no! You don't understand," she cried hastily. "I fear that I may
not have the strength and courage to carry through a plan I have formed
to secure your safety and my own liberty."
"But I can assist you," he suggested. "Your interests are mine, now,
remember," he added, kissing her.
"Yes," she said, looking up into his eyes. "But to render me assistance
is not possible. Any action on my part must necessarily imperil both of
us. No, I must act alone."
"When?"
"Very soon. In a few days, or a few weeks. When, I know not. Very
soon I must return to England."
"To England!" he cried. "I thought you preferred your own Italy!"
"I have an object in going back," she answered ambiguously.
"You'll let me accompany you?"
She reflected for a moment; then, without responding, rose, rang the
bell, and told the man-servant, who entered resplendent in the blue
Funaro livery, to bring her visitor some wine.
"You must be half famished after your journey," she exclaimed. She was
standing before him in a white gown, white from head to foot. "I must
really apologise for not being more hospitable, Nino."
"I'm really not hungry," he replied. Then he added, "You didn't answer
my question."
"I was reflecting," she responded slowly. "I don't know whether it is
wise at this juncture for you to return to England, into the very midst
of your enemies."
"You haven't yet explained who my enemies are, beyond urging me to be
wary of Malvano. True, that man has lied to me about you. He told me a
silly, romantic, and wholly fictitious story regarding your parentage;
but, after all, he may have been mistaken, especially as it was in
answer to my inquiry whether he knew any one named Fanetti in Florence."
"Malvano was well aware that I had used that name more than once," his
well-beloved replied. "He wilfully deceived you for his own purpose.
He wished to part us."
"Why? He is surely not in love with you?"
"Certainly not," she answered, laughing at such an idea. "His object
was not jealousy."
"Then he is actually my enemy?"
"Yes," she replied. "Avoid him. If you desire to return to England
with me, I will allow you to do so with one stipulation. The moment we
set foot in London we must part. If it were known that we were
together, all my plans would be frustrated."
"And I am to leave you to the mercy of these mysterious enemies of
yours?" he observed dubiously.
"It is imperative. You must leave London instantly and go away into the
country. Malvano must not know that you are in England. Go to your
uncle's in Berkshire, and wait there until I can with safety communicate
with you."
"But all this is extraordinary," he said mystified, taking from her hand
the glass of wine she had poured out for him. "I must confess myself
still puzzled at finding you mistress of his magnificent palace, and yet
existing in deadly fear of mysterious enemies." He knew nothing of her
connexion with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and only
regarded her as a wealthy woman whose caprice it had been to masquerade,
and who had earned a wide reputation for gaiety and recklessness.
"Some day, before long, you shall know the whole truth, Nino," she
assured him in deep earnestness.
"When you do, you will be amazed--astounded, as others will be. I know
I act strangely, without any apparent motive. I know you have heard
evil of me on every hand, yet you still trust me," and again she looked
into his eyes; "yet you still love me."
"Yes, piccina," he answered, calling her once again by that endearing
term she had taught him in those summer days beside the sea when he knew
so little Italian and experienced such difficulty in speaking to her.
"Yes," he said, placing his arm tenderly round her waist, "I trust you,
although evil tongues everywhere try to wound you."
Only when beside this man she loved was she her real-self, true, honest,
loving, and tender-hearted. To the world outside she was compelled to
wear the mask as a cold, sneering, crafty, and coquettish woman, the
cunning and remorseless adventuress who had won such unenviable
notoriety in the political circle at Rome and in Florentine society.
"La Funaro is known by repute in every town throughout Italy," she said
brokenly. "My reputation is that of a vain, coquettish woman without
heart, without remorse. But you, Nino, when you know the truth, shall
be my judge. Then you will know how I have suffered. The foul lies
uttered on every side have cut me to the quick, but under compulsion I
have remained silent. Soon, however"--and her brilliant eyes seemed to
flash with eagerness at the thought which crossed her mind--"soon I
shall release myself, and then you shall know everything--everything."
"On that day perfect happiness will come to me," he said fervently. "I
love you, Gemma, more deeply than ever man loved woman."
"And I, too, Nino, love you with all my heart, with all my soul."
Their lips met again in a fierce caress, their hands clasped tightly.
He looked into her clear eyes, bright with unshed tears, and saw fear
and determination, truth and honesty mirrored therein. Her tiny hand
trembled in his, and then for very joy she suddenly burst into a flood
of emotion.
"When shall we leave for England?" he asked at last, his strong arm
still about her waist.
"In a couple of days. I have only waited here for you to join me," she
said, drying her eyes. "Life without you, Nino, is impossible."
"So within a week we shall be in London?"
"Yes," she replied. "Soon, very soon, I hope, I may be free. But I
have a task before me--one that is difficult and desperate. In order to
secure your safety, and my own freedom from the hateful bonds which have
fettered me these last two years, I am compelled to resort to strategy,
to deception deep and cunning, the smallest revelation of which would
wreck all our hopes."
"How?"
"Exposure of my plans would cost me my life," she answered, her face
white and set, a shudder running through her slight frame.
"Your life?" he echoed, still mystified. "One would think you feared
assassination!"
She made no answer, but, pale to her lips, she held her breath. The
flunkey in blue re-entered the room, bearing a telegram upon a salver.
His mistress took it and, tearing open the folded pale drab paper, read
its contents.
"No reply," she said; and the man, bowing, withdrew. "Nino," she
exclaimed in a voice of deep earnestness when the servant had gone, "you
may think it extraordinary, but for your sake, because I love no other
man but yourself, I have resolved to risk my life and free myself. This
telegram makes it imperative that we should leave again for England
to-night. You have shown trust in me; you do not believe all the idle
tales gossips have littered. I love you, Nino. If I prove victor, I
gain your affection, and happiness always with you. If I lose, then I
die, unwillingly, but nevertheless in the confidence that to the end you
trusted me."
"No, no!" he cried fiercely. "You shall not die! You shall never be
taken from me! I adore you, Gemma! God knows I love you, darling!"
"Then you will never doubt me--never!" she cried, clinging closely to
him, and raising her beautiful face to his. "You will not doubt me even
if, to gain my end, I feign love for another. To him, my kisses shall
be Judas-kisses, my smiles mockery, my lips venom, my embrace the
chilling embrace of death. Hear me?" she cried wildly. "I go to
England with a purpose--a vendetta complete and terrible which I will
accomplish by hatred--or, failing that, by love. Both will be equally
fatal."