to marry when he is past fifty. If
Ludovico had put a knife into him instead of into the girl, I should
have said that it served him right," said another.
"And what was the good of murdering the girl? If the old fellow
wants to be married, he will marry some other girl if not this one.
Girls are plenty enough," said a third.
"Ay, but not such girls as La Bianca--what a lovely creature she
was! I don't wonder at the Marchese being caught by her, for my
part, seeing her every day as he did," remarked a fourth.
"Bah, girls are plenty enough, as Gino said, and pretty girls too.
And if the Marchese was minded to marry, it wasn't the murder of
this poor girl that would stop him," said one of the others.
"And that is a strong reason, as it strikes me, for thinking that
Ludovico had nothing to do with it. He must have known, as well as
we, that it was likely enough his uncle would find somebody else,"
remarked Manutoli.
"Well, we shall see. But I would wager a good round sum that
Ludovico did it," said the Conte Leandro; who had by that time
recovered his tranquillity.
"Oh, now here's Leandro, who begins to think again that he does know
something about it," said the Barone Manutoli.
"I said nothing of the sort, Signor Barone. How should I know? But
everybody may have his opinion, and that is mine.
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