CHAPTER XV. FOUND

Guiseppe Pallanza slept soundly all night, while I took snatches of sleep in the armchair by his bedside. At nine o'clock in the morning he awoke, feeling much stronger, and after I had given him something to eat I prepared to go out.

"Where are you going, Signor?" asked Pallanza in an anxious tone.

"I am going to send a doctor to see you, and then I am going to the Casa Angello."

"And for what reason?"

"To bring Signorina Bianca here!"

"Do you know the Signorina Bianca?"

"Very well, Signor Pallanza. I am the Englishman of whom you have no doubt heard her speak."

"Signor Hugo! yes, I know," muttered Guiseppe; and then, after a pause, "I wish to speak to you, I wish to tell you something."

"You shall tell me all shortly, but meanwhile lie down quietly, and when the doctor comes say nothing about the Palazzo Morone."

"Ah!" cried Pallanza, starting up in his bed, "do you know that horrible place?"

"I know all! But there, you are still weak," I answered, forcing him to lie down. "When I return I will speak to you about some important matters."

"Important!--to me?"

"Yes, and to the Contessa Morone."

"Ah! that terrible woman."

"Meanwhile, Signor Pallanza, say nothing about your visit to the palace or about Madame Morone."

"Not a word! And you will bring Bianca to see me?"

"Yes! I promise you."

With this hope, Pallanza was perfectly contented, and after instructing his landlady, who was in a state of great bewilderment at this sudden reappearance, to look after him, I went out to find Avenza. Fortunately he was well known in Verona, and I had no difficulty in discovering his house. He saw me at once, listened to my account of the way Pallanza had passed the night, and promised to see him without delay. Having thus carried out satisfactorily the first part of my mission, I departed to perform the second, which involved a somewhat embarrassing interview with Signorina Angello.

On arriving at the house of the Maestro, I was received by Petronella, who threw up her hands with an appeal to the saints when she saw my haggard appearance and burst out into a volley of questions.

"Eh! Signor Inglese. Is it not well with you? San Pietro! how the wine does change a face. Here has the Maestro been asking for you every day! 'Well! Well!' said I, 'he has gone away like the lover of the piccola!' And it is true! I see how you return. Eh! Madonna, all men are bad. I have been married--I know."

"You are wrong on this occasion, Petronella. I have not been at the wine, as you seem to think!"

"But your face, Signor Inglese--like that of a sick person! Gran dio!"

"Comes from sitting up all night by the bedside of Guiseppe Pallanza."

Petronella clapped her hands together with an ejaculation of delight

"He is found, then, the poor young man! Ah! it is well I did not waste a centesimo in masses; and those priests are such thieves. Eh! this news will be like wine to the piccola. Go in! go in, Signor Inglese! the Signorina is there, but the Maestro! he is in bed, which is the best place for him, say I."

After this breathless harangue Petronella ushered me into the sitting-room, where I found Bianca sitting by the window, contemplating a portrait of her lost lover. She arose when she saw me and came forward with an anxious look on her paleface, while the faithful but noisy domestic left the apartment.

"Well, Signorina, do you feel better?"

"Yes, yes, Signore, much better; but you have news!--news of Guiseppe."

"The best of news, my poor child. Guiseppe is found, and is now at his lodgings."

The blood rushed into her hitherto pale cheeks, her melancholy dark eyes sparkled with joy, and from a pallid, worn-looking girl she changed into a bright, joyful woman. It was a most wonderful transformation, as if a wan lily had suddenly blossomed under the wand of some fairy into a rich red rose.

"Signor Hugo! Signor Hugo! Ah, the good news! Oh, how happy I am! He is alive, then? he is well! Oh, say he is well, Signor Hugo!"

"Signorina, he is still weak after his adventure, and at present he is in bed."

"Oh, let me go to him! let me go at once! He may die, my poor Guiseppe!"

"No he will not die; but put on your hat and I will take you to him, for you alone, Signorina, can nurse him back to health and strength."

Bianca ran to put on her hat and tell the Maestro the good news, which evidently delighted the old man greatly, judging from the extraordinary chuckling sounds which shortly proceeded from his bedroom. Petronella at the doorway celebrated a noisy triumph on her own account, and at last amid the chucklings of the patriarch and the loud delight of his handmaiden, Bianca took her departure under my wing to visit the newly-found prodigal.

She absolutely danced along the pavement, so exuberant was her delight at the good news, and I thought how easily I could damp this joy by telling her the true story of Guiseppe's disappearance. It was a cruel thought, and I regretted it the moment after it flashed across my mind; for it would have been the wanton act of a boy crushing a butterfly to have destroyed the happy ignorance of this merry child, who, tripping gaily along by my side, put me in mind of the smiling Hebe of the Greeks, that charming incarnation of joyous maidenhood.

"Signore!" said Bianca, moderating her transports, "you have not told me the reason of Guiseppe's absence."

"I am afraid there is very little to tell, Signorina! He was lured to the Palazzo by an enemy, who kept him there until last night, when, luckily, I discovered where he was concealed and released him."

"Ah, Signor Hugo, how can I thank you for your kindness! Then my poor Guiseppe was hidden in that terrible room?"

"He was concealed near it, at all events," I replied evasively.

"And the voice in the darkness, Signor? Oh, that cruel, cruel voice! It. has haunted my dreams ever since!"

"It was nothing, Signorina; it was--it was a friend of mine, who came to assist me to look for Guiseppe!"

"Was it a signor or a Signora?" asked Bianca, who, evidently in her nervous agitation, had not distinguished the feminine tones of the unknown.

"It was a signor! a young signor whom I know!"

"But he saw us in the darkness. Dio! how terrible."

"No; he did not see us. He guessed we were there, as I told him we were going to look for Guiseppe, and he came to assist me."

Bianca was satisfied with this--I flatter myself--skilful explanation, and stopped asking questions, much to my relief. The number of lies I was forced to tell in connection with this affair was truly surprising, but as it was absolutely necessary to keep this poor child in ignorance of the true state of the case, I ventured to hope that the Recording Angel would treat them in the same way as he did the oath of my Uncle Toby, in Sterne's delightful story. Italian intrigue, from the experience I had of it, was certainly very little to my taste, as I was by no means a convert to the Jesuitical maxim that the end justifies the means, therefore it was with a thankful heart that I saw the whole intricate affair was nearly finished.

By this time we had arrived at Pallanza's lodgings, and I placed Bianca in an outer room with strict injunctions that she was not to leave it until I called her.

"Guiseppe is still weak, Signorina, and I must prepare him for your coming."

The fact is I wanted to carry out my promise to Beltrami, in asking Pallanza to live in retirement for a few months, and, until this was arranged, I was unwilling that he should see Bianca. The poor child fully believing what I said, promised to obey me faithfully in all things; so leaving her in the outer room I went in to see Pallanza, whom I found eagerly expecting my arrival.

To my surprise, the young man was up and dressed, as Dr. Avenza, finding him So much better, had insisted on him leaving his bed, to remain in which, he declared, was weakening; so I found Pallanza walking slowly to and fro to exercise his muscles, but on seeing me he came forward With an anxious look,--

"Is she here, Signor Hugo? Has Bianca come?"

"She is in the next room, Signor! No, do not go to her. I wish to speak to you."

"I am at your service, Signor Hugo. You have done so much for me that I can never repay you."

"Yes, you can by telling me how you went to the Palazzo Morone on that night."

"I will tell all, Signore! You have a right to know. But, Bianca?"

"She knows nothing."

A look of relief came over the anxious face of the young man, and we both sat down to continue the conversation.

"I met Madame Morone at Rome, Signore," said Pallanza with some faint hesitation, "and we were together a great deal. I did not love her exactly, but she being a great lady flattered my pride. Of course, I should have remembered Bianca, but she was not beside me, and as to the Contessa! ah, Signore Hugo, who can escape when a woman wills? Madame Morone made me afraid at last. She is a tigress, that woman, and threatened to kill me if I left her for another. I saw how dangerous was her love, and telling her I was going to marry the Signorina Angello, left Rome for Verona. She followed me here and took me to the Palazzo Morone on Sunday, where she exhausted every means of making me give up Bianca. I should not tell you all this about a woman, Signor, but by her attempt to kill me she has released me from the laws of honour. Cospetto! she is a mistress of the devil. Her rage is terrible, and on Sunday she implored, she wept, she raged, she threatened, but I was true to Bianca, and at last escaped from the palazzo intending never to see her again. On Monday night, however, I received a letter----"

"From a dying friend?" I interrupted meaningly.

"Eh! I said so in order to keep the affair from Bianca, as I knew if she heard about it I should be lost. No! Signor Hugo. The letter was from the Contessa, saying that if I did not come by eleven o'clock to the room in the palazzo, in order to bid her farewell, she would go at once to the Signorina Angello and tell all. Per Bacco! Signor, you may guess my fear at this message; and I determined to go to the palazzo at any cost. The opera was long that night, and before the curtain descended it was past eleven. I was so afraid of the Contessa fulfilling her threat that I did not wait to change my costume, but throwing on my cloak over my dress of Faust, went at once to the palazzo. She was not in the room, and I had a horrible fear that I was too late, but I waited for some time, and she came. We had another scene of tears, reproaches and rage, then----"

"I can tell you the rest, Signor Pallanza. She gave you the poison in a cup of wine, and when you fell at her feet she shut you up in a hiding-place, from whence you were rescued."

"By you, Signor, by you?"

"No; by the Marchese Beltrami, who took you to his house, and after many days revived you with an antidote to the poison which he obtained with great difficulty."

"But the Marchese! You, Signor, how did you see all this?"

"Ah! that is a long story. I will tell it to you another time, but at present you must promise me something."

"Anything, Signor Hugo! For you have saved my life from that terrible woman."

"She is indeed a terrible woman! and it is to escape her vengeance that I advise you not to sing for at least two months."

"But my engagement at the Ezzelino?"

"Pay forfeit-money. Say you are ill and cannot sing. Then return to Milan with the Signorina and marry her at once."

"But the Contessa?"

"Has gone to Rome for the present; but as soon as she finds out you are alive she will come after you; so, if you are wise, Signor Pallanza, you will obtain some engagement out of Italy."

"Basta, Signor! your advice is good, and I will do what you ask. For two months I will not sing. I will pay the forfeit-money to the Ezzelino and return to Milan with Bianca. It is best so. Per Bacco! what a demon I have escaped!"

I felt greatly relieved that everything had thus been settled, so arose from my chair to take Pallanza to the Signorina, after which I intended to go straight to my hotel and write a letter to Beltrami, telling him of all that had taken place.

"Come, Signor Pallanza, lean on me, and I will take you to Bianca."

"Ah! cara Bianca," he cried joyfully, as I led him to the door; "Bianca, Bianca, gioja della mia vita!"

"Guiseppe!"

She saw him standing with outstretched arms on the threshold of the room, and with a cry of joy flew towards him like a bird to its nest, and flung herself on his breast.

As for me, I went out of the room and left them together.