"Holy saints, what's this?" cried the voice she had heard first, and she knew that the Carabineers were bending over the body on the couch.
"His Excellency!"
"Lord save us!"
Roma's head was dizzy, and something more was said which she did not follow. At the next moment the Carabineers had entered the sitting-room; she was standing face to face with them, and they were questioning her.
"The Honourable Rossi is here, isn't he?"
"No," she answered in a timid voice.
"But he has been here, hasn't he?"
"No," she answered more boldly.
"Do you mean to say that the Honourable Rossi has not been here to-night?"
"I do," she said, with exaggerated emphasis.