"He told you that?" cried Giovanni in great astonishment.
"Yes—that and nothing more. He came to see me late this afternoon. He said that he feared lest I should be anxious about your long absence, and that he thought himself justified in telling me where you were and in giving me a pass, in case I wanted to see you. Besides, if it is not all as he says, how did you come here?"
"You do not know the truth? You do not know what I did? You do not guess why I am in the Holy Office?"
"I know only what he told me," answered Corona, surprised by Giovanni's questions.
But Giovanni gave no immediate explanation. He paced the floor in a state of excitement in which she had never seen him, clasping and unclasping his fingers nervously, and uttering short, incoherent exclamations. As she watched him a sensation of fear crept over her, but she did not ask him any question. He stopped suddenly again.
"You do not know that I am in prison?"
"In prison!" She rose with a sharp cry and seized his hands in hers.
"Do not be frightened, dear," he said in an altered tone. "I am perfectly innocent. After all, you know it is a prison."
"Ah, Giovanni!" she exclaimed reproachfully, "how could you say such a dreadful thing, even in jest?" She had dropped his hands again, and drew back a step as she spoke.
"It is not a jest. It is earnest. Do not start. I will tell you just what happened. It is best, after all. When I left you at the Termini, I saw that you had set your heart on liberating poor Faustina. I could not find any way of accomplishing what you desired, and I saw that you thought I was not doing my best for her freedom. I went directly to the cardinal and gave myself up in her place."