"It is well, signor; if agreeable to you, we will meet at the same time and place as these gentlemen."
"Agreed. Gentlemen, I have the honor to salute you."
Whereupon, Nasi and I returned to the house, after enjoining silence on the servants.
Hector Grimani's conduct on that occasion introduced me to a type of the men one meets in fashionable society, which I had not before observed. If it had occurred to me to pass judgment on Hector the first time I had seen him at Villa Grimani, when he retreated into his cravat and his nullity in order not to be intolerable to his cousin, I should have said that he was a weak, harmless, cold, but good-natured youth. Was it possible that such an insignificant creature could cherish a feeling of hostility? Could those mechanically refined manners conceal an instinctive tendency to brutal domination and cowardly resentment? I would not have believed it; I did not expect to hear him demand satisfaction of Nasi for his harsh reception; for I thought that he was more polished and less courageous, and I was astonished to find that, after being foolish enough to invite such a castigation, he had sufficient determination to resent it. The fact is that Hector was not one of those insignificant men who never do good or evil. He was ill-tempered and presumptuous; but, being conscious of his intellectual mediocrity, he always allowed himself to be overborne in discussion; then, spurred on by hatred and vindictiveness, he would insist on fighting. He fought frequently and always on some insufficient ground, so that his tardy and obstinate courage did him more harm than good.
Before I would allow Nasi to return to Alezia, I took him aside and told him that everything that had happened had come about against my wish; that I had never intended to seduce or elope with or marry Signora Aldini, and that it was my firm determination to part from her instantly and forever, unless honor made it obligatory upon me to marry her, in order to repair the harm she had done herself on my account. I desired Nasi to decide that question.
"But before I tell you the whole story," I said, "we must consider the question that is most urgent at this moment, and take such measures that our young guest may be compromised as little as possible. I must tell you one thing that she doesn't know, that her mother will be here to-morrow evening. I propose to send a man to the first relay station, so that she may be told to come here directly and join her daughter, instead of looking for her at Villa Grimani. As soon as I have placed Signora Alezia in her mother's hands, I trust that everything will be straightened out; but, until then, what explanation am I to give her of the extreme reserve with which I propose to treat her?"
"The best way," said Nasi, "would be to persuade her to leave here and go back to her aunt, or, failing that, to go into a convent for twenty-four hours. I will try to make her understand that her position here is not tenable."
He joined Alezia. But all his excellent arguments were thrown away. Checca, faithful to her habit of boasting, had told the girl that she was Nasi's mistress, that the count had left her after a quarrel, and that it was then that he had proposed for Alezia's hand; but that, being fully cured by her refusal, and drawn back by an unconquerable passion to his mistress's feet, he was ready to marry her. So that Alezia considered that it was perfectly proper for her to be in Nasi's house, and she was overjoyed to learn that he, like herself, had made up his mind to yield to the craving of his heart, and to break with public opinion. She promised herself that she would find in that happy couple congenial companionship for her whole life and friendship proof against any trial. She was afraid of my scruples, if she left Nasi's house, and of the efforts of her family to reconcile her with society. So she obstinately persisted in ruining herself, and finally informed Nasi that she would not leave his house unless she was compelled by force to do so.
"In that case, signora," said the count, "you will permit me to take the course which honor enjoins upon me. I am your brother, as that is your wish. I accept that rôle with gratitude and resignation, and I have already acted the part by standing between you and Count Hector's insolent demands. I shall continue to act in accordance with the counsels of my respect and devotion; but if a brother's rights do not go to the extent of ordering his sister to do this thing or that, they certainly authorize him to put away from her anything that can injure her reputation. You will allow me therefore to exclude Lelio from this house until your mother is here, and I have just sent a messenger to her, so that you will be able to embrace her to-morrow evening."
"To-morrow evening?" cried Alezia; "that is too soon. No, I don't want her to come yet. Happy as I shall be to see my darling mother, I am determined to have time enough to be compromised in the eyes of society, and irrevocably ruined in its opinion. I insist upon starting off with Lelio to meet my mother. When it is known that I have actually travelled with him, no one will find excuse for me, no one will be able to forgive me, except my mother."