“And you know, Manassa,” she had said, “he has never been a drinking man. Something must have frightened him. I wonder what there is in that old tower.”
And Manassa, who had a poor opinion of women, had replied, sneeringly:
“If there is anything mysterious up there, you will probably find out what it is before you are satisfied. In woman, curiosity takes the place of courage.”
On the evening of the birthday anniversary, Pascal had given orders that every candle in the castle should be lighted, and when Vivienne and Victor entered the Hall of Mirrors they found them burning brightly in the sconces on the wall between the mirrors, and in the candelabra.
“You are safer here than outside,” said Vivienne. “I will let you know when the castle is clear, and then there will, no doubt, be a chance for you to escape, and if you will allow me to advise you, monsieur, I should say leave Corsica—for a season at least. No doubt, you and your friends will be glad to turn your backs upon a nation which you must henceforth consider as inhabited by barbarians.”
“Not at all, dear friend! There are some here, mademoiselle, whom I shall greatly esteem while life lasts.”
“Try to forgive my brothers, if you can; they have been fearfully misled.”
“I would forgive any whom you love, mademoiselle, even though they subjected me to the keenest torture, but never can I feel greater remorse than I do at this moment.”
“Remorse—and for what?” cried Vivienne.
Victor was obliged to strain a point in order to supply a suitable explanation of his feelings. He remembered that Vivienne had told him that she did not love Count Mont d’Oro, and would never marry him. Victor knew that Vivienne was his friend, or she would not have twice placed a weapon in his hand to enable him to defend himself. He had never declared his love for her, and he had no right to presume that she was in love with him. He felt that she would not have aided him had she known him to be a Della Coscia. Then Miss Enright had told him that Corsican women were passionate—adding that passionate women were usually fickle. Did Vivienne love him? He would test her.