'How to give Cecilia least pain.'
'Are you in love with Cecilia?' he asked me.
'No,' I answered honestly, 'I am not in love with Cecilia, but she is dearer to me than anybody in the world. I could not love my sister or my mother more tenderly.'
'H'm!' he said in his old way, when thinking. 'And what have events led you to?'
'They lead me nowhere,' I cried; 'I am helpless.'
'And so Clyde has never been here, of course. Has he escaped?'
'I cannot say.'
'It is a terrible business, Calvotti, but it is better so. You have done right. You have done well. You have done nobly. There is no evidence against you which is not so flimsy that a fly could break through it. Clyde will disappear. If he should come back again, I will warn him off—trust me. Time will console Cecilia, and you will have averted a tragedy. Here is somebody at the door.'
Chain and lock creaked and jangled. The door swung inwards, and Ratuzzi appeared with the advocate.
'Signor l'Avvocato,' I said, 'this gentleman will tell you everything it concerns you to know. Or—stay. Do you speak English?'