'My lord, I am speaking seriously. This madness of your Cabalist friends does not influence me; indeed, it infuriates me when I think of the sorrow it causes. I can recognise the good intentions, but they stand for an unpardonable frenzy. Never refer to it with me again—never!'
Formosa looked up; his face, which till then was undecided and disturbed, got icy and hard. That 'never,' said so firmly by Antonio Amati, made him frown rather.
'What methods are you referring to, then?' he asked in a queer voice, in which Amati noted hostility again.
'Perhaps to-day we are too excited; let us put off talking about it till another occasion,' muttered Amati, who saw he was about to lose an important advantage. 'To-morrow will do.'
'There is no use in delaying,' the Marquis di Formosa insisted coldly and politely. 'As it has to do with Bianca Maria's welfare, I am ready.'
'Give me your daughter for my wife,' said Dr. Amati quickly and energetically.
The Marquis di Formosa shut his eyes for a moment as if a bright light dazzled them, as if he wanted to hide his flashing glance, and did not answer.
'I think I am offering your daughter a position worthy of the name she bears,' the doctor went on again at once, determined to go to the bottom of it, 'for my work has brought me money and credit; it is no use being modest. I will work still harder, so that she may be rich, very rich, happy, and in an assured position, protected by my love and strength.'
'You love Bianca Maria, do you?' Formosa said, without looking Amati in the face.
'I worship her,' he said simply.