Don Agostino laughed. "Certainly!" he replied. "But the baron and the Abbé Roux think otherwise. That is the difficulty; and what they think, the princess thinks."
"Si capisce!"
"Signor Fontana," said Don Agostino, suddenly, "you said just now that you would do anything for Donna Bianca. Were you in earnest?"
"And why not, reverendo?"
"Bene! You have the opportunity of proving your loyalty."
He rose from his chair, and, taking Silvio's packet from the writing-table, placed it in Sor Beppe's hands. "I have promised Signor Rossano, Donna Bianca's affianced husband, that this should reach her without delay. She has been waiting for it for weeks. Will you undertake that it shall be given into her hands, and into her hands only?"
Sor Beppe's eyes flashed. "I swear it!" he said. "Concetta shall give it to her this very night."
"Concetta? But is she to be trusted?"
"As much as I am to be trusted, reverendo. Concetta would do anything to serve the principessina. You need not be afraid. Donna Bianca shall have her lover's letter this very night. You can guess how?"
"Of course. But will she not be terrified at seeing your daughter enter her room in such a manner? Remember that the princess sleeps next door to her."