"But, now I recollect, Giovanni's name was not associated with the scandal; it was a mere inference on my part that connected him with the youthful member of the Roman aristocracy mentioned by the gossips."
"Perhaps I am unjust, papa, in reviving your suspicions, but Giovanni's strange behavior when I asked him the cause of his quarrel with Espérance and of the continued coldness between them, forced me to think there was something wrong."
"His quarrel with Espérance? Ah! now I remember, there was a quarrel, but I imagined it was settled, and that their relations were altogether friendly."
"They are enemies, papa, or seem to be, and that is not all—Espérance accuses Giovanni of having been guilty of some infamous deed."
"You have spoken to Espérance then on the subject?"
"Yes, papa."
"And what did he say?"
"He dealt in vague denunciations, and positively refused to give me any definite information."
"That is singular."