"Oh! if you knew, madame, how earnestly I have begged, implored him to renounce his pursuit! And he promised to do it.—'Only a few months more,' he said, 'and we will return to Italy, and no one will recognize in me the dreaded bandit.'—But, alas! it is more than a year since he told me that, and I have not met him since."
"But he has not been arrested, as Joseph said.—Another servant, whom I sent out to make inquiries, has just returned and told me that they made a mistake, that the man who was arrested was not the famous robber."
"That is true, madame. Thank heaven, my fears were unfounded! Ah! if you knew what a feeling of despair took possession of me!"
"Do you think that I did not see it, poor girl? Do you think that I was not struck by your pallor, by your confusion, by that grief-stricken cry which you uttered, when Joseph said: 'Giovanni is arrested'?—It was that that revealed your secret to me. Luckily, the servants saw nothing but curiosity in your precipitate exit—nothing but the desire to see a man who spreads terror throughout Paris.—Now that you know that he is not arrested, you are calmer and happier. In future be more prudent; be careful not to betray yourself."
"Oh! you are right, madame; I will try to conceal my feelings."
"But, look you, Miretta—try more earnestly than ever to meet the man you love; and the first time that you see him, remember to tell him this: that I wish to see him and speak with him; that I have need of his services; that he can safely trust me; that I will go, alone with you, to whatever place of rendezvous he may appoint; and that I will reward him generously for what he does for me.—Will you tell him all that, Miretta? Do you promise?"
"Yes, madame, I will do whatever you command. But, alas! in order to tell Giovanni this, I must see him; and, as you know, I cannot succeed in that."
"Do not despair; you will see your lover again. Chance often serves us better than we serve ourselves, and our wishes are gratified at the moment when we least expect it.—Look at me: since I have been Marquise de Santoval, I have been to all sorts of festivities, balls, and receptions, and yet I have not met the man I seek. He avoids me doubtless, but it is useless; he will be obliged to see me again, for I am determined that he shall.—But I hear the Marquis de Santoval's step!—Go, take this secret door!—It is as well that he should not see you, for you are still perturbed, and he has eyes that read deeper than our faces.—Go."
XL
A FÊTE AT CAMILLA'S
The courtesan Camilla occupied a charming little house near Porte Saint-Honoré; it was in the city, and yet it was almost in the country.