And it would be impossible for any man
to love, as I love you, without a liability to jealousy. I am
jealous of your love, Bianca!"
"But it is wonderful that you should not perceive how little cause
you have for any such feeling. Oh, Marchese, how can you doubt me?
Surely you must have seen and known how entirely my love is yours.
You must not wring your poor Bianca's heart by such cruel
suspicions."
And then the three knocks, which announced the raising of the
curtain, were heard; and the Marchese again murmuring a request to
be forgiven, as he kissed her hand, hurried away to take his place
in his box.
The house was already nearly full, for the occasion was a notable
one; and the opera was new to Ravenna; and everybody wished to hear
every note of it. The Marchese Ludovico was not, however, in the
Castelmare box, when his uncle reached it, but he came in a minute
afterwards. He had been up to the upper tier of boxes to say a word
to Paolina and her old friend, who were in the box he had provided
for them, which was on the opposite side of the house to the
Castelmare box; and exactly over that in the "piano nobile" in which
were the Marchesa Anna Lanfredi, and her niece the Contessa
Violante.
There was a little noise in the house of people not yet seated
during the opening chorus of villagers; but when the prima donna
came on the stage as Amina, after the prolonged and repeated rounds
of applause, which greeted her appearance, had subsided, a pin's
fall might have been heard in the theatre.
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