"It is very strange," said Giacinta, thoughtfully. "I certainly believed they did not intend her to marry at all—at any rate, for some years."
"Ah, but that was before I appeared on the scene," observed Silvio. "Now they are afraid of her marrying me, and so would marry her to anybody who happened to be noble."
Giacinta shook her head. "There is some other reason than that," she replied. "The princess could find scores of husbands for the girl without being obliged to fall back on her own brother, who must be nearly thirty years older than Donna Bianca. A marriage between those two would be a marriage only in name."
Silvio stared at her. "What in the world do you mean, Giacinta?" he exclaimed.
"Oh," she returned, hurriedly, "I don't mean—well, what you think I mean! I meant to say that, supposing Bianca Acorari were married to this old baron, everything would go on as before in Casa Acorari. It would be, so to speak, merely a family arrangement, which would, perhaps, be very convenient."
"Perbacco!" exclaimed Silvio, "but you have your head upon your shoulders, Giacinta! I never thought of that. I thought it was simply a scheme to marry Bianca as soon as possible, in order to get her away from me. But very likely you are quite right. There is probably some intrigue behind it all. We will hear what Don Agostino thinks of your supposition—ah, here they come!" he broke off suddenly as his father and Don Agostino entered the library together.
Silvio made the priest acquainted with his sister, and then turned to the professor.
"I hope, Babbo," he said, "that you have given me a fairly good character."
"I have explained that you are as obstinate as a mule," replied his father.
Don Agostino laughed. "I have heard a few other things about you also," he said, laying his hand on Silvio's shoulder. "After all," he added, "they were only things I expected to hear, so I might quite as well have stopped at Montefiano instead of coming to Rome—except for the pleasure of seeing an old friend again."