�And now,� Wyant continued, �you will perhaps be good enough to tell me what all this means.�
There was no mistaking the effect produced on Count Ottaviano by this request. His lips moved, but he achieved only an ineffectual smile.
�I suppose you know,� Wyant went on, his anger rising at the sight of the other�s discomfiture, �that you have taken an unwarrantable liberty. I don�t yet understand what part I have been made to play, but it�s evident that you have made use of me to serve some purpose of your own, and I propose to know the reason why.�
Count Ottaviano advanced with an imploring gesture.
�Sir,� he pleaded, �you permit me to speak?�
�I expect you to,� cried Wyant. �But not here,� he added, hearing the clank of the verger�s keys. �It is growing dark, and we shall be turned out in a few minutes.�
He walked across the church, and Count Ottaviano followed him out into the deserted square.
�Now,� said Wyant, pausing on the steps.
The Count, who had regained some measure of self-possession, began to speak in a high key, with an accompaniment of conciliatory gesture.
�My dear sir—my dear Mr. Wyant—you find me in an abominable position—that, as a man of honor, I immediately confess. I have taken advantage of you—yes! I have counted on your amiability, your chivalry—too far, perhaps? I confess it! But what could I do? It was to oblige a lady�—he laid a hand on his heart—�a lady whom I would die to serve!� He went on with increasing volubility, his deliberate English swept away by a torrent of Italian, through which Wyant, with some difficulty, struggled to a comprehension of the case.