After his prayer, candle in hand, he went toward his bedchamber, passing through the dark rooms of the sleeping palace. In one of them, however, he encountered Madonna Lucrezia.
'Truly, the god of Love favours me!' he thought.
'Signore!' exclaimed the girl; her voice broke, she would have thrown herself on her knees before him, as she added, 'have pity on me, my lord!'
And she told him that her brother Matteo Crivelli, chief of the chamberlains, a man of abandoned life but whom she devotedly loved, had lost at play great sums of the public money.
'Fear not, madonna! I will save your brother.'
He was silent for a moment, and added with a deep sigh:—
'And you too, O madonna, will you not be to me less cruel?'
She looked questioningly at him with serene and innocent eyes.
'I do not understand you, signore. What is your meaning?'
Her modesty rendered her yet fairer.