They ran down the widening stairway, but when they reached the little open space where the acacias stood, Jeanne Dessalle, Maria, and Noemi were just entering it from the opposite direction.
It was not too dark under the acacias for Maria to recognise her husband and Don Clemente in the two figures coming from the house. Being in advance of her sister with Jeanne, she promptly turned to the right, making her companion turn with her, and directed her steps towards the little Casino, an addition to the villa, and standing with its back to the larger house. Selva, on his part, seeing his wife’s movement, promptly whispered to the Padre:
“Go down the straight path at once.”
But it was all to no purpose.
All to no purpose, because Noemi, astonished at seeing her sister turn to the right, stopped short, exclaiming:
“Where are you going?” and Don Clemente, having perhaps noticed a lady standing in his way, instead of passing her and going down, went to summon the gardener, who was waiting for him in the darkest corner of the little opening, where the side of the house meets the hill. He called “Benedetto!” and then turning to Selva said: “Would you like to show him the little field?” “At this hour?” Giovanni answered, while his wife whispered to Noemi: “Some visitors are just leaving, let us stay here at the Casino until they have passed,” shaking her head at her so emphatically the while, that Signora Dessalle noticed the action, and at once suspected some mystery.
“Why?” she said. “Are they dangerous?” and slackened her pace. Noemi, on the other hand, having understood her sister’s wish, but not her secret motive, was over-zealous in seconding her; and clasping her two companions round the waist, she pushed them towards the Casino. Jeanne Dessalle was instinctively moved to rebel, and turning upon her, exclaimed: “What are you doing?” Then she saw Selva coming towards them. He hastened to greet them, spreading out his arms as if to hide Don Clemente, who, followed by the gardener, passed rapidly within five paces of Jeanne, and descended the steep path.
Noemi, who had also turned at her brother-in-law’s greeting, ran to embrace him; Selva in the meantime, feeling gratified that Don Clemente had avoided a meeting. Selva, releasing himself from Noemi’s embrace, extended his hand to Jeanne, who did not see it, and murmured absently some incomprehensible words of greeting. At that point Dane, Marinier, Faré, di Leynì, and Padre Salvati issued from the villa. The Selvas went to meet them, leaving Noemi and Signora Dessalle to await their return. The parting compliments lasted some time. Dane wished to pay his respects to Signora Dessalle, but Maria, not seeing her where she had left her, supposed that she and Noemi had gone into the house, passing behind them, so she promised to be the bearer of the professor’s greetings. At last, when the five had started down the hill accompanied by Giovanni, Maria heard Noemi calling her:
“Maria! Maria!”
A peculiar note in her sister’s voice told her something had happened. She ran back, and found Signora Dessalle seated on a bundle of fagots, in the corner where the gardener from Santa Scolastica had stood, not five minutes before, and repeating in a weak voice: “It is nothing, nothing, nothing! We will go in directly, we will go in directly!” Noemi, greatly agitated, explained that her friend had suddenly felt faint while those gentlemen were talking, and that she had with difficulty been able to drag her as far as the bundle of fagots.