He returned to his conversation with Laura.
All night long she prayed for strength and courage.
And when, the next morning, she was alone with him, too frightened to speak, she simply handed him Caracciolo's letter. He took it, read it, and silently returned it.
"What do you think of it?" she asked.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, as if he did not wish to express an opinion.
"Does it strike you as a serious letter?"
"Yes, it's serious."
"I may easily be mistaken," she said. "That is why I want to ask your advice. You—you know so much."
"A little," he assented, smiling.