An utterly unfounded fear. But so it is that conscience doth make
cowards of us all.
CHAPTER VII
Extremes Meet
The Marchese was uneasy in the presence of his nephew. But the fact
was that he was uneasy and unhappy altogether, and at all times.
From being one of the most placidly cheerful and contented of men,
he was becoming nervous, anxious, and restless. People began to
remark that the Marchese was beginning to look older. They had said
for years past that he had not grown a day older in the last ten
years. But this winter there was a change in him!
It did not occur to anybody to connect any change that was
observable either in the Marchese's manner or in his appearance,
with the frequency of his visits to the quartiere inhabited by the
prima donna and Signor Quinto Lalli, in the Strada di Porta Sisi.
The ordinary habits of the Marchese, and his functions as a patron
of the theatre and amateur impresario were so well known and
understood, that it seemed perfectly natural to all Ravenna that he
should be very frequently with the prima donna. And on the other
hand, the almost monastic regularity of his life, and his character
of long standing in such respects, would have made the notion that
he had any idea of flirting with the singer appear utterly absurd
and inadmissible to every man, woman, or child in the city, if it
had ever come into anybody's head.
Pages:
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291