Paolina Foscarelli was equally indubitably, and by her own
confession, not far off from the neighbourhood of the spot at the
same time.
Of the Conte Leandro Lombardoni it was known only that he had passed
out of the city gate leading in the same direction, at a time which
might have enabled him to be present where the deed was done, at the
hour when it must have been done. The evidence as to propinquity to
the place was less strong in his case than in that of either of the
others; but it was supplemented by the unaccountable strangeness of
his passing out of the Porta Nuova towards the Pineta at such an
hour, and on that particular morning.
The Marchese Ludovico stated that he went thither for the purpose of
showing the Pineta to the prima donna, who had never seen it. And
there was nothing incredible or greatly improbable in the statement.
Paolina declared that she had gone to St. Apollinare in pursuit of
her professional business. And the declaration was not only very
probable in itself, but could be shown by evidence to be true. Only,
while it accounted for her presence in the church of St. Apollinare,
it left her departure from the church with her face turned, not
towards the city, but towards the Pineta, unaccounted for.
In the case of the Conte Leandro, it was difficult to imagine the
motive that could have induced him to leave the city at that hour,
in the manner in which he was proved, by the testimony of the men at
the gate, to have done.
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