Adele Savelli followed Ghisleri's advice, and took the new medicine he
had so carelessly recommended. At first it did her good and she regained
something of her natural manner. But her nerves seemed to be
mysteriously affected and terribly unstrung. Her husband, watching her
with the cool judgment of a person neither prejudiced by dislike nor
over-anxious through great affection, came to the conclusion that she
was turning into one of those nervous, hysterical women whom he
especially disliked, and whom she herself professed to despise. The
world, for a wonder, was at a loss to find a reason for her state, and
contented itself with suggesting that the family skeleton in Casa
Savelli had probably grown restless of late, and was rattling his bones
in his closet in a way which disturbed poor dear Adele, who was such a
delicately organised being. To what particular tribe the Savellis'
skeleton belonged, the world was not sure. Some said that he was called
Insanity, some whispered that his name was Epilepsy, and not a few
surmised that his nature was financial. As a matter of fact, no one knew
anything about him, though every one was sure that he was just now in a
state of abnormal activity, and that his antics accounted for Adele's
pale face and startled eyes.
There was no doubt of the fact that she was ill, though she would
scarcely admit it, and went through the season with a sort of feverish,
unnatural gaiety. Being in reality no relation at all to Laura, she
merely wore black for three weeks as a token of respect, but did not
especially restrict herself in the matter of amusements even during that
time, and when it was over, she threw herself into the very central
whirl of the gay set with a sort of desperate recklessness which people
noticed and commented upon. They were careful, however, not to speak too
loud. Adele Savelli was very popular in society, and a very important
person altogether, so that the world did not dare to talk about her as
it discussed poor Laura Arden. And it found much good to say of Adele.
It was so nice of her, it remarked, to change completely in her way of
speaking of her step-sister, since the latter had lost that wretched
little husband of hers. He, of course, as every one knew, had fallen a
victim to his abominable habit of drinking brandy. It was all very well
to call it scarlet fever--the world was well aware what that meant. The
name of the thing was delirium tremens, and they said the last scene was
quite appalling. The cripple, in the violence of the crisis, had twice
sprung up and thrown down Ghisleri, who was a very strong man,
nevertheless, and who had behaved in the most admirable way. He had not
allowed any one to be present except the doctor, and it was impossible
to extract a word of the truth from him. That was how it happened and,
well--after all, it was a great mercy, and it was no wonder that Laura
should have recovered so easily from the shock, and should already be
beginning to amuse herself with Ghisleri. There was no doubt about that,
either, for he went there every day, as regularly as he went to see the
Contessa dell' Armi. And it was really angelic of Adele to stand up so
resolutely for her step-sister, considering how the latter had always
behaved. Adele took so much trouble to deny the stories that were
circulated, that some people learned them for the first time through her
denial.
In this, as in many other things, Adele was consistent. She denied
everything.
"It is not even true," she said to Donna Maria Boccapaduli, "that Laura
has the evil eye."
But as she said it, she quickly folded her two middle fingers over her
bent thumb, making what Italians call "horns" with the forefinger and
little finger. Donna Maria saw the action, instinctively imitated it,
and fell into the habit of repeating it whenever Laura was mentioned.
"Why do you do that?" asked the Marchesa di San Giacinto of her the next
day.
"Eh--my dear! Poor Laura Arden is a terrible jettatrice, you know. Adele
says it is not true, but she makes horns behind her back all the same,
just as every one else does."
Thereupon the Marchesa did the same thing, wondering that she should so
long have been ignorant that Laura had the evil eye. In a week's time
all Rome made horns when Laura was mentioned. At a dinner party a
servant broke a glass when she was being discussed, and at once every
one laughed and stuck up two fingers. San Giacinto, who, lean as he was,
weighed hard upon sixteen stone, sat down upon a light chair in Casa
Frangipani, just as he was saying that this new story about Laura was
all nonsense, and the chair collapsed into a little heap of straw and
varnished sticks under his weight. It was no wonder, people said, that
Arden should have fainted that night at the Palazzo Braccio, for Laura
had just accepted him. They seemed to have forgotten how they had
interpreted that very scene hitherto. The world was not at all surprised
that he should have died in the first year of his marriage, considering
that he had married a notorious jettatrice. Look at poor Adele herself!
She had never been well since that dinner at which the reconciliation
with Laura was sealed and ratified. Pietro Ghisleri should be careful.
It was very unwise of him to go and see her every day. Something awful
would happen to him. Indeed it had been noticed that he was not looking
at all well of late. That dreadful woman would kill him to a certainty.
Ghisleri was furious when the tale reached him, as it did before long.
He knew very well how dangerous a thing it was to have the reputation of
possessing the evil eye. It is a strange fact that at the present day
such things should be believed, and well-nigh universally, by a cultured
society of men and women. And yet it is a fact, and an undeniable one.
Let it once get abroad that a man or a woman "projects"--to translate
the Italian "jetta"--the baneful influence which causes accidents of
every description, and he or she may as well bid farewell to society
forever. Such a person is shunned as one contaminated; at his approach,
every hand is hidden to make the sign of defence; no one will speak to
him who can help it, and then always with concealed fingers kept rigidly
bent in the orthodox fashion, or clasped upon a charm of proved
efficacy. Few, indeed, are those brave enough to ask such a man to
dinner, and they are esteemed almost miraculously fortunate if no
misfortune befalls them during the succeeding four and twenty hours, if
their houses do not burn, and their children do not develop the measles.
Incredible as it may appear to northern people, a man or woman may be
socially ruined by the imputation of "projecting," when it is sustained
by the coinciding of the very smallest accident with their presence, or
with the mention of their names, and quite enough of such coincidences
were actually noted in Laura's case to make the reputation of being a
jettatrice cling to her for life. Ghisleri knew this, and his wrath was
kindled, and smouldered, and grew hot, till it was ready to burst out at
a moment's notice and do considerable damage.
"It is an abominable shame," he said to Maddalena dell' Armi. "It is all
Adele Savelli's doing. She has taken a new departure. Instead of
starting bad reports as true, she begins by denying things of which
nobody ever heard. I am quite sure she is at the bottom of it, but I do
not see how I can stop the story."
"You seem to care a great deal," said Maddalena.
"Yes. I do care. If it would do any good, I would call out Francesco
Savelli and fight about it."
"For Laura Arden's sake?" It was the first time she had ever heard
Ghisleri even hint that he would do so much for any one, though she knew
that he would for herself.
"No," he answered, with sudden gentleness. "Not for Lady Herbert's sake,
my dear lady. I would do it because, just when he was dying, Arden told
me that I must take care of her, and I mean to do my best, as I promised
him."
"You are quite right," answered Maddalena, taking his hand and pressing
it a little. "I would not have you do otherwise, if I could--if I had
all the influence over you which I have not. But oh--if you can help
fighting--please--for my sake, if you care--"
Maddalena's cold face and small classic features expressed a great deal
at that moment, and there were bright tears in her violet eyes. In her
own way she loved him more than ever. He was deeply touched as he
tenderly kissed the hand that held his.
"For your sake, I will do all that a man can do to avoid a quarrel," he
said earnestly.
"I know you will," she answered.
During a few moments there was silence between them, and Maddalena
recovered control of herself.
"That is the true reason why I ask you," she said. "There are plenty of
others which you may care for more than I. You would not care to have it
said that you were fighting her battles. Will you promise not to be
angry if I tell you something you will not like--something I know
positively?"
"Yes. I promise. What is it?"
"People are beginning to say already that you are making love to her,
and that you are always at the house."
"The brutes!" exclaimed Ghisleri, fiercely. "Who says that?"
"The women, of course. The men are much too sensible, and none of them
care to quarrel with you."
"Oh!" Pietro contented himself with the exclamation, and controlled his
anger as best he could.
"Was I wrong to tell you?" asked Maddalena.
"No, indeed. I am very glad you have told me. I shall be more careful in
future."
"It will make very little difference. You know the world as well as I
do, and better. People have begun to say that you go to see Lady Herbert
every day--they will still say it after you have not been to her house
for months."
"Yes. That is the way the world talks. I hope this will not reach her
ears--though I suppose it ultimately will. Some dear kind friend will go
and tell her in confidence, and give her good advice."
"Probably. That is generally the way. Only, as she is in deep mourning
and receives very few people, it may be a little longer than usual in
such cases before the affectionate friend gets at her. Then, too, the
idea that she is a jettatrice will keep many of her old acquaintances
away. You know how seriously they take those things here."
It will be remembered that both Maddalena and Ghisleri were from the
north of Italy, where the superstition about the evil eye is much less
general amongst the upper classes than in Rome and the south. Pietro
himself had not the slightest belief in it, and he had so often laughed
at it in conversation with the Contessa that if she had ever had any
vague tendency to put faith in the jettatura, it had completely
disappeared. But both of them were thoroughly familiar with the society
in which they lived, and understood the position in which Laura was
placed.
"I will help you as much as I can," said Maddalena, "though I cannot do
much. At all events, I can laugh at the whole thing and show that I do
not believe in it. But as for the rest,--placed as I am, I can hardly
make an intimate friend of Lady Herbert Arden, much as I like her."
She spoke sadly and a little bitterly. Ghisleri made no reference to the
last remark when he answered her.
"I shall be very sincerely grateful for anything you can do to help the
wife of my old friend," he said. "And I think you can do a good deal.
You have great influence in the gay set--and that means the people who
talk the most--Donna Adele, Donna Maria Boccapaduli, the Marchesa di San
Giacinto, and all the rest, who are, more or less, your intimates. It is
very good of you to help me--Lady Herbert needs all the help she can
get. Spicca is a useful man, too. If he can be prevailed upon to say
something particularly witty at the right moment, it will do good."
"I rarely see him," said Maddalena. "He does not like me, I believe."
"He admires you, at all events," answered Ghisleri. "I have heard him
talk about your beauty in the most enthusiastic way, and he is rarely
enthusiastic about anything."
Maddalena was pleased, as was natural. She chanced to be in one of her
best humours on that day, and indeed of late she had been much more her
former self when she was with Ghisleri. A month earlier, the discussion
about Laura Arden could not have passed off so peaceably, for the
Contessa would then have resented anything approaching to the intimacy
which now appeared to exist between Lady Herbert and Pietro. The latter
wondered what change had taken place in her character, but accepted her
gentle behaviour towards him very gratefully as a relief from a former
phase of jealous fault-finding which had cost him many moments of
bitterness. As he saw, from time to time, how her cold face softened, he
almost believed that he loved her as dearly as ever, though the illusion
was not of long duration. He left her, on that afternoon, with a regret
which he had not felt for some time at the moment of parting, and he
would gladly have stayed with her longer. They agreed to meet in the
evening at one of the embassies, where there was to be a dance. In the
mean time, they were to dine out at different houses, and the Contessa
had a visit to make before going to the ball.
Pietro was sorry that he had promised not to quarrel about the story of
the evil eye. The affair irritated him to an extraordinary degree, and
though he had grown calmer under Maddalena's influence, his anger
revived as he walked home and thought over it all. He dined that evening
in Casa San Giacinto, and found himself placed between Donna Maria
Boccapaduli and Donna Christina Campodonico. The latter was a slim,
dark, graceful woman of five and twenty, remarkably quiet, and reported
to be very learned, a fact which contributed less to her popularity than
her own beauty and her husband's rather exceptional reputation.
Gianforte Campodonico was a man whom Ghisleri would have liked if they
had not known each other some years previously in circumstances which
made liking an impossibility. He respected him more than most people,
for he had fought a rather serious duel with him in days gone by, and
had seen the man's courage and determination. Campodonico was the
brother of the beautiful Princess Corleone who had died in Naples
shortly after the above-mentioned duel, and who was said to have been
the love of Ghisleri's life. Gianforte, for his sister's sake, had made
up his mind to kill Ghisleri or to die in the attempt, with a desperate
energy of purpose that savoured of earlier ages. He was, moreover, a
first rate swordsman, and the encounter had remained memorable in the
annals of duelling. Ghisleri had done all in his power to avoid the
necessity of fighting at all, but Campodonico had forced him into it at
last, and the weapons had been foils. The world said that Ghisleri was
not to be killed so easily. He was as good a fencer as his adversary,
and was left-handed besides, which gave him a considerable advantage.
The result was that he defended himself successfully throughout one of
the longest duels on record, until at last he almost unintentionally ran
Gianforte through the sword arm and disabled him. The latter, humiliated
and furious at his defeat, had demanded pistols then and there, and
Ghisleri had professed himself ready, and had placed himself in the
hands of his seconds. But both his own friends and Gianforte's decided
that honour was satisfied, and refused to be parties to any further
fighting, so that Campodonico had been obliged to accept their verdict.
He sought an opportunity of quarrelling again, however, for he was a
determined man, and he would probably have succeeded in the end; but at
this juncture the Princess died after a short illness, and after
exacting a solemn promise from both men that they would never fight
again. That was the last act of her brief life of love and unhappiness,
and it was at least a good one. Loving her with all their hearts, in
their different ways, both Ghisleri and Campodonico respected the
obligation they had taken as something supremely sacred. Ghisleri went
and lived alone in a remote village of the south for more than a year
afterwards, and Gianforte spent an even longer period in almost total
seclusion from the world, and in the sole society of his widowed mother.
Three years before the time now reached in this chronicle, he had
married, as people said, for love, and for once people were right. His
elder brother bore the title, and as there was another sister besides
the Princess Corleone, Gianforte's portion had been small, for the
family was not rich, and he and his wife lived very modestly in a small
apartment in the upper part of the city, the Palazzo Campodonico having
long ago passed into the hands of the Savelli.
And now, at the San Giacinto's dinner table, Ghisleri found himself
seated next to Donna Christina, and nearly opposite to her husband. It
had long been known and generally understood that Pietro and Gianforte
had buried their enmity with the beautiful woman about whom they had
fought, and that they had no objection to meeting in the world, and even
to conversing occasionally on general subjects, so that there was
nothing surprising in the fact that at a dinner of eighteen persons they
should be asked together. It chanced that, by the inevitable law of
precedence, Ghisleri sat where he did. Donna Christina of course knew
the story above related, and in her eyes it lent Ghisleri a somewhat
singular interest.
Now it happened, towards the end of dinner, that some one mentioned Lady
Herbert Arden. Instantly Donna Maria, on Pietro's right, made the sign
of the horns with both hands, laughing in a foolish way at the same
time. Ghisleri saw it, and a glance round the table showed him that the
majority of the guests did the same thing.
"How can you believe in such silly tales?" he asked, turning to Donna
Maria.
"Everybody does," answered the sprightly lady. "Why should not I? And
besides, look at the facts--San Giacinto had the name of the lady we do
not mention on his lips when he broke that chair the other day--there, I
told you so!" she exclaimed suddenly.
Young Pietrasanta, who, as it happened, had been the one to speak of
Laura Arden, had upset a glass, which, being very delicate and falling
against a piece of massive silver, was shivered instantly. The claret
ran out in a broad stain.
"Allegria--joy!" laughed the lady of the house. Italians very often
utter this exclamation when wine is spilled. It is probably a survival
of some primeval superstition.
"Joy!" repeated Pietrasanta, with quite a different intonation. "If ever
I mention that name again!"
"You see," said Donna Maria triumphantly to Ghisleri. "There is no doubt
about it."
"I beg your pardon for contradicting you," answered Ghisleri, coldly,
"but I think there is so much doubt that I do not believe in the
possibility of the evil eye at all, much less in the ridiculous story
that Lady Herbert Arden's name can upset a glass of wine or break a
chair."
"I agree with you," said Donna Christina, in her quiet voice, on
Pietro's other side. "It is almost the only point on which my husband
and I differ--is it not true, Gianforte?" she asked, speaking across the
table to Campodonico. There had been a momentary lull in the
conversation after the little accident, so that he had heard what had
been said.
"It is quite true," he answered. "I believe in the jettatura, just as
most people do, but my wife is a sceptic."
"And do you really believe that Pietrasanta upset his glass because he
mentioned Lady Herbert?" asked Pietro.
"Yes, I do." Their eyes met quietly as they looked at each other, but
the whole party became silent, and listened to the remarks exchanged by
the two men who had once fought such a memorable fight.
Gianforte Campodonico was a very dark man, of medium height, strongly
built, and not yet of an age to be stout, with bold aquiline features,
keen black eyes, and a prominent chin. A somewhat too heavy moustache
almost quite concealed his mouth. At first sight, most people would have
taken him for a soldier. Of his type he was very handsome.
"Can you give any good reason for believing in anything so improbable?"
asked Ghisleri.
"There are plenty of facts," answered Campodonico, calmly. "Any one here
will give you fifty--a hundred instances, so many indeed, that you
cannot attribute them all to coincidence. Do you not agree with me,
Marchese?" he asked, appealing to the master of the house, whose opinion
was often asked by men, and generally accepted.
"I suppose I do," said the giant, indifferently. "I never took the
trouble to think of it. Most of us believe in the evil eye. But as for
this story about Lady Herbert Arden, I think it is nonsense in the first
place, and a malicious lie in the second, invented by some person or
persons unknown--or perhaps very well known to some of you. Half of it
rests on that absurd story about the chair I broke in Casa Frangipani.
If any of you can grow to be of my size, you will know how easily chairs
are broken."
There was a laugh at his remark, in which Campodonico joined.
"But it is true that you were speaking of the lady one does not mention
at the moment when the chair gave way," he said.
"Yes," said San Giacinto, "I admit that."
"I agree with San Giacinto, though I do not believe in the evil eye at
all," said Ghisleri. "And I will go a little further, and say that I
think it malicious to encourage the story about Lady Herbert. She has
had trouble enough as it is, without adding to it gratuitously."
"I do not see that we are doing her any harm," observed Campodonico.
"The gossip may be perfectly indifferent to her now," said Ghisleri.
"She is most probably quite ignorant of what is said. But in the natural
course of events, two or three years hence she will go into the world
again, and you know what an injury it will be to her then."
"You are looking very far ahead, it seems to me. As for wishing to do
her an injury, as you call it, why should I?"
"Exactly. Why should you?"
"I do not."
"I beg your pardon. I think every one who contributes to the circulation
of this fable does harm to Lady Herbert, most distinctly."
"In other words, we are not of the same opinion," said Campodonico, in a
tone of irritation.
"And I express mine because poor Arden was my oldest friend," answered
Ghisleri, with the utmost calm. "If I cannot persuade you, let us agree
to differ."
"By all means," replied Gianforte, and he turned and began to talk with
the lady on his right.
Donna Christina leaned towards Ghisleri and spoke to him in a very low
voice, quite inaudible to other ears than his, as the hum of general
conversation rose again.
"Is it true," she asked, "that you and my husband agreed, years ago,
that you would never quarrel again?"
Ghisleri looked at her in cold surprise. He was amazed that she should
refer to that part of his past life, of which no one ever spoke to him.
"It is true," he answered briefly.
"I am very glad," said Donna Christina. "I thought you were near a
quarrel just now about this absurd affair. You hate each other, and
Gianforte is very hot-tempered."
"There is no danger. But I am sorry you think that I hate your husband.
He is one of the few men whom I really respect. There are other reasons
why I should not hate him, and why I should not be surprised if he hates
me with all his heart, as I dare say he does, from what you say."
He glanced at her, but she did not answer at once. She was still young
and truthful, and it did not occur to her to be tactful at the expense
of veracity.
"I am glad you defended Lady Herbert as you did," she said, after a
short pause. "It was nice of you." Then she turned and talked with the
man on her other side.
Donna Maria Boccapaduli had been waiting for her opportunity and
attacked Ghisleri as soon as he had ceased talking with his other
neighbour.
"Tell me," she said, "you like Laura Arden very much, do you not?" Of
course she made the sign at Laura's name.
"Yes. She is a very charming woman."
"She ought to be grateful to you. She would be, if she knew how you
stood up for her just now."
"I should be sorry if she ever came to know that she needed to be
defended," answered Ghisleri, almost indifferently.
"She will, of course. It will be all over Rome to-night that you and
Campodonico almost quarrelled about her. She is sure to hear about it.
Why do you take so much interest in her?"
"Because her husband was my friend," Pietro replied, rather wearily. "I
just said so."
"You need not be so angry with me because I ask questions," said Donna
Maria with a laugh. "I always do--it is the way to find out what one
wants to know."
"And what do you want to know?"
"You will be angry if I ask you."
"Then ask me something else."
"But I want to know so much," objected Donna Maria, with an expression
that made Ghisleri smile.
"Then you must take the risk," he said. "It is not very great."
"Well, then, I will." She dropped her voice almost to a whisper. "Is the
lady in question--I mean--is she the sort of woman you can imagine
falling in love with?"
"I do not think I should ever fall in love with her," answered Ghisleri,
without betraying emotion or surprise.
"Why not? There must be some reason. So many men have said the same
thing about her."
"She is too good a woman for any of us to love. We feel that she is too
far above us to be quite human as we are."
"What a strange man you are, Ghisleri! I should never have dreamt that
you could say such a thing as that. It is not at all like your
reputation you know, and not in the least like those delightfully
dreadful verses you addressed to the saint last year on Shrove Tuesday
at Gouache's studio. I should think that Mephistopheles would delight in
making love to saints."
"In real life Mephistopheles would get the worst of it, and be shown to
the door with very little ceremony."
"I doubt that. Every woman likes a spice of devilry in the man she
loves--and as for being shown to the door, that is ridiculous. Is there
any reason in the world why you should not fall in love with a woman
exactly like the unmentionable lady and marry her, too, if you love her
enough--or little enough, according to your views of married life? You
are quite free, and so is she, and you said yourself that in the course
of time she would naturally come back to the world."
"No," said Ghisleri, thoughtfully, "I suppose there is no reason why I
should not ask Lady Herbert Arden to marry me in four or five years,
except that I do not love her in the least, and that she would most
certainly refuse me. And those are two very good reasons."
The dinner was over and the party returned to the drawing-room. Ghisleri
stood a little apart from the rest, examining a painting with which he
had long been familiar, and slowly inhaling the smoke of a cigarette. It
was a small copy of one of Zichy's famous pictures illustrating
Lermontoff's "Demon"--the one in which Tamara yields at last, in the
convent, and throws her arms round the Demon's neck. Prince Durakoff had
ordered the copy and had presented it to the Marchesa di San Giacinto.
Ghisleri had always liked it, and had a photograph of the original in
his rooms. He now stood looking at it and recalling the strange, half
allegorical romance of which the great Russian made such wonderful
poetry.
Presently he was aware that some one was standing at his elbow. He
turned to see who it was, and found himself face to face with Gianforte
Campodonico, who was looking at him with an expression of indescribable
hatred in his black eyes.