"Then come!" exclaimed Edith, excitedly, "I want you to go down to him; he is in one of the rooms below—in the library, I think—a room under the one opposite this. He will be so astonished by your unexpected visit that he will be thrown off his guard, and you must manage to occupy his attention until you are sure I am well out of the house—which will be in less than ten minutes after you are in his presence—and then I shall have nothing more to fear from him."
"I will do it," said the Italian girl, rising, a look of resolve on her handsome but care-lined face.
"Thank you! thank you!" returned Edith, earnestly. "I am going straight to New York, to friends; but of course, you will not betray my plans."
"No, indeed; but do you think your friends can help you break with Emil—do you believe that ceremony can be canceled?" breathlessly inquired Giulia.
"I hope so," Edith gravely answered; "at all events, if I can but once put myself under the protection of my friends, I shall no longer fear him. I shall then try to have the marriage annulled. Perhaps, when he realizes how determined I am, he may even be willing to submit to it."
"Oh, do you think so?—do you think so?" cried Giulia, tremulously, and with hopeful eagerness.
"I will hope so," replied Edith, gravely, "and I will also hope that I may be able to do something to make you and this dear child happy once more. What a sweet little fellow he is!" she concluded, as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek, an act which brought the quick tears to his mother's eyes.
Again she seized the girl's delicate hand and carried it to her lips.
"Ah, to think! An hour ago I hated you!—now I worship you!" she cried, in an impassioned tone, a sob bursting from her trembling lips.
"You must go," said Edith, advancing to the door, and softly opening it. "I have no time to lose if I am to catch my train. Remember, the room under the one opposite this—you will easily find it. Now good-by, and Heaven bless you both."