IX
It was very still in the ilex grove of the Villa Acorari. The air was sultry, and not a leaf stirred; yet angry-looking clouds occasionally drifted across the sky from the sea, and cast moving patches of purple shadow on the plain stretching away from below Velletri to the coast.
The sunbeams glanced here and there through the heavy foliage. They threw quaint, checkered patterns on the moss-grown flag-stones surrounding a group of fountains, and flashed upon the spray falling over sculptured nymphs and river-gods wantoning in cool green beds of arum leaves and water-lilies.
A gentle, drowsy murmur of insects filled the air, and the splashing of the fountains – otherwise deep silence reigned. Lizards, green and golden-brown, darted out of the crevices in the old stone seats, paused abruptly with little heads poised in a listening attitude, and darted away again; while blue dragon-flies hawked over the waters of the fountains, now giving mad chase to a fly, now resting – jewels set in green enamel – on a lily leaf.
It was not to be wondered at if the gardens of the Villa Acorari were reputed to be haunted by spirits of the old gods. On this July afternoon some mysterious influence, infinitely peaceful but infinitely sad, seemed to brood over them. All the glamour of a mighty past seemed to enfold them – such a past as many an old villa in the neighborhood of Rome has witnessed, in which every passion, good and bad, has played its part; in which scenes of love and hate, of joy and sorrow, of highest virtue and foulest crime have succeeded each other through the centuries.
Tradition declared that a shrine sacred to the rites of the Lupercalia once stood in the midst of this ilex grove, on the very spot where the fountains now murmured and the water-lilies lifted their pure whiteness to the hot caress of the sunbeams.
If this were so, it was certainly as well that times had changed; that lizards and dragon-flies had usurped the place of the Luperci, and that lascivious Pan slept with the rest of the joyous company of Olympus; else had Bianca Acorari, quietly reading her book in the deep shadows of the ilex-trees, run grievous risk of receiving the sacred blow from the thong of some lustful votary of the god.
St. Peter's festival had come and gone, and Bianca, to her great satisfaction, had already been some days at the Villa Acorari. It was an untold relief to her to feel that for at least three months she was free to wander about these old gardens instead of driving through the hot, dusty streets of Rome. This year, too, she would not be quite so much alone as she had usually been. The princess had consented to a scheme whereby Mademoiselle Durand was to continue giving her lessons, at any rate for another month; and it had been duly arranged that she should come to the villa three times a week from Albano, where, it appeared, she was going to pass the remainder of the summer. The proposition had come from Mademoiselle Durand herself. She had other pupils, she had informed the princess, who would be in villeggiatura at Albano and Ariccia, and it would be very easy for her to come over to the Villa Acorari if the princess wished it.
Somewhat to her step-mother's surprise, Bianca jumped eagerly at the idea. There could be no objection, the princess thought, to the girl pursuing her studies with Mademoiselle Durand for a few more weeks; and she saw, moreover, that Bianca welcomed the thought of occasionally having the governess as a companion. She would not have wished Bianca to walk with Mademoiselle Durand in Rome, certainly; but at the villa it was a very different thing; and, after all, it was better for her than being perpetually alone, or merely having Bettina's society.
Mademoiselle Durand had already been over twice, and Bianca had shown her all her favorite walks, and the places where she liked to sit and read or work during the heat of the afternoons.
It had struck Bianca that the Frenchwoman displayed considerable curiosity as to her movements. Mademoiselle Durand insisted upon being taken all over the grounds of the villa, and almost appeared as though she were studying the topography of the spots which Bianca pointed out as being her usual resorts.
They had talked of many things only a couple of days ago – things which, it must be confessed, had nothing whatever to do with Bianca's education. In the course of the last few weeks the girl had lost much of the reserve she had formerly displayed towards her governess. The Rossano family had been, as it were, a sympathetic link between Mademoiselle Durand and Bianca, a subject to which it was refreshing to both to turn after wrestling with French history or German poetry.
Mademoiselle Durand had talked of Silvio on this very spot where Bianca was now giving herself up to the pleasant feeling of drowsiness induced by the murmur of the fountains and the fragrant warmth of the July afternoon, and she had shaken her head sadly and significantly.
That young man, she assured Bianca, was breaking his heart and ruining his health. It did not at the moment strike either her or her listener that Silvio could hardly do the one without doing the other. It was certainly very sad, and Bianca had confided to Mademoiselle Durand that she wished she could do something to avert such a catastrophe.
"Perhaps," the Frenchwoman said, tentatively, "if you were to make his acquaintance, he might become more reasonable," and Bianca had gazed at her with a startled air.
"You know, mademoiselle," she said, a little impatiently, "that I can never make his acquaintance."
"Never is a long time," returned Mademoiselle Durand, smiling. "Supposing – I only say supposing – you met him somewhere, on one of your walks, for instance, and that he spoke to you, would you not try to – well, to give him some good advice – to be kind to him?"
"He probably would not ask me for my advice," replied Bianca, laughing.
Mademoiselle Durand looked at her and hesitated for a moment.
"I think he would," she said, slowly. "You see, Donna Bianca, there is such a close resemblance between your own position and that of the girl with whom the poor boy is so madly in love."
Bianca was silent.
"I wonder," persisted Mademoiselle Durand, "what you would do. It would be very interesting to know."
"You mean – " began Bianca.
"I mean," interrupted Mademoiselle Durand, "if by any chance you happened to meet Monsieur Silvio and he asked you for your advice, as, du reste, he has asked me. You would not run away – no?"
"No," said Bianca, thoughtfully, "I don't think I should run away. I think I should try to help him if I could. I am very sorry for him."
Mademoiselle Durand suddenly sprang up with a little scream.
"A scorpion!" she exclaimed. "I am sure I saw a scorpion! It ran in there – into that hole close to my foot."
"I dare say," said Bianca, indifferently. "It is the time of year when one finds them, but I have never seen one just here. It is too damp for them, I think."
Mademoiselle Durand had made no further allusion after this either to Silvio Rossano or to the scorpion. Indeed, she turned the conversation into professional channels with some abruptness, and shortly afterwards she returned to the house preparatory to going back to Albano.
Mademoiselle's question returned to Bianca's mind as she sat under her ilex-tree. It was all nonsense, of course, for how could she meet Silvio Rossano and talk to him about his love-affair? Mademoiselle Durand knew perfectly well that there could be no question of such a thing. But still it would be very interesting to hear all about this mysterious girl with whom he was so hopelessly in love. And, yes, she would certainly like to meet him and talk to him. It was odd how well she remembered his features, though she had never dared to look at him very much. Nevertheless, since that Christmas night in the Sudario they had seemed to be impressed upon her mind. And that other girl, the one he was in love with, whose name Mademoiselle Durand declared she was bound in honor not to mention, did she think much about him – remember the look of his eyes and the expression of his mouth? Perhaps she never thought about him at all.
At this stage of her reflections Bianca suddenly found herself becoming angry. She had just paused to ask herself why this should be, when a soft, pattering sound which was not that of the fountains fell upon her ear. Looking up, she became aware that the sunlight had faded, and that the shade around her had grown suddenly deeper. The air felt heavier and more stifling, and the pattering noise that had at first attracted her attention seemed to come nearer and nearer as the light grew more dim. From somewhere in the underwood a frog began to croak contentedly:
"Or s'ode su tutta la fronda
crosciare
l'argentea pioggia
che monda,
il croscio che varia
secondo la fronda
più folta, men folta
Ascolta.
La figlia del aria
è muta; ma la figlia
del limo lontana,
la rana,
canta nell'ombra più fonda,
chi sa dove, chi sa dove!"1
Bianca rose hurriedly and looked at the sky. The campagna below, and even the vineyards on the slopes of the hill immediately beneath the park of the Villa Acorari, still lay bathed in sunshine. The light rain that was falling was evidently only a passing summer-shower, and not, as she had for a moment feared, the immediate precursor of one of those violent hail-storms that sometimes sweep over the Alban hills, devastating in a few minutes the crops of a whole district, and turning smiling vineyards, laden with fruit, into brown and barren wildernesses.
Bianca picked up her neglected book and made her way towards a little casino which stood at the end of the ilex avenue, inside which she proposed to shelter herself until the shower should have passed over. She had scarcely taken a few steps under the sombre green branches when she started back with a little cry. A man stepped from behind one of the gnarled trunks and stood before her, bare-headed. In an instant she recognized him. He was not the god – no. For a second she had almost thought that he might be. Then she looked at him again. Not the god – no; but surely the god could scarcely be fairer.
She turned aside hesitatingly.
"Donna Bianca!"
The low voice, very gentle, very pleading, seemed to mingle its tones with the murmur of the fountains and the croscio of the rain-drops among the ilex-leaves.
Silvio Rossano stood and looked at her. Bianca put her hand up to her throat. Something seemed to rise in it and choke back her words.
"You!" she exclaimed.
He smiled a little. "I, Silvio," he said, simply. "Donna Bianca," he continued hurriedly, as though anxious not to give her time to say more, "if you tell me to go, I will go, and you shall never see me again."
And then he waited.
A great silence seemed to follow his words, as though all the sylvan deities in their lurking-places were listening for her answer.
Only the frog croaked:
"Chi sa dove, chi sa dove!"
Presently Bianca Acorari spoke.
"I do not tell you to go," she said.
Then Silvio moved a few steps nearer to her.
Suddenly Bianca started, as though rousing herself from a dream.
"What am I saying?" she exclaimed. "Of course you must go! You should never have come here. If they were to find you – alone with me – "
Silvio's eyes flashed.
"Yes," he said; "alone with you – at last!"
Bianca drew back from him.
"At last!" she repeated. Then she smiled. "Of course," she continued, "you wished to talk to me. Mademoiselle Durand told me – though I do not understand what I can do."
Silvio looked at her in bewilderment.
"You knew!" he exclaimed; "and yet – you do not understand what you can do? Donna Bianca," he added, earnestly, "please do not laugh at me. Surely you understand that you can do – everything – for me?"
Bianca shook her head. "I do not laugh at you," she said slowly. "I am sorry for you. I would help you if I could; but how can I?"
She moved towards the casino as she spoke.
"Listen!" she added, "the rain is coming on more heavily. Do you not hear it on the leaves? And it grows darker again."
He followed her to the summer-house, but as she pushed open the door he drew back, and glanced at her hesitatingly.
"I will remain here," he said. "Afterwards, when the shower is over, if you will let me speak to you – "
Bianca Acorari looked at him. "Come," she said, briefly.
It was an unheard of proceeding. Verily, as Monsieur d'Antin had said, Bianca was no child – unless, indeed, she was more childish than her years warranted. Any behavior more diametrically opposed to all the rules and customs that so strictly regulate the actions of a young girl in Italy could scarcely be conceived.
Silvio Rossano himself was taken aback at her confidence in him. Her demeanor was so natural, however, and her manner, after the first surprise of seeing him had passed, had become so self-possessed, that he never for an instant misunderstood her.
Bianca seated herself upon a dilapidated chair – the only one, indeed, having its full complement of legs that the casino contained.
"Mademoiselle Durand said that if I – if we ever met, you would perhaps ask me for my advice," she said, gravely. "I cannot understand why you should think any advice of mine could help you. Perhaps she made a mistake, and you are here by accident."
Silvio almost laughed at her gravity, but she spoke with a certain dignity of manner which contrasted very charmingly with her fresh, girlish beauty.
"No," he said quietly, "I am not here by accident, Donna Bianca. I am here to see you – to tell you – "
"Ah, yes, I know!" interposed Bianca, hurriedly. "It is very sad, and, believe me, I am very sorry for you – very sorry."
Silvio's bronze face grew suddenly white.
"Sorry!" he exclaimed. "That means you can give me no hope – that you think me presumptuous – "
Bianca glanced at him. "I can give no opinion," she replied; "but I think – " and she paused, hesitatingly.
"Yes?" asked Silvio, eagerly. "What do you think, Donna Bianca?"
"That if I were a man," returned Bianca, slowly, "I would marry whom I chose, no matter how many difficulties stood in my way – that is to say," she added, "if I knew the woman whom I cared for cared for me."
"Ah," exclaimed Silvio, quickly, "but supposing you didn't know?"
"Then I should ask her," said Bianca Acorari, bluntly.
Silvio started violently. Then he came and stood beside her.
"Donna Bianca," he said, in a low, eager voice, "do you know what you are saying?"
Bianca looked at him a little wonderingly. She could not but notice his agitation. "Certainly I do," she replied. "You see, Monsieur Silvio," she added, and then stopped in confusion. "I beg your pardon," she said, blushing violently. "I am very rude – but I have so often heard Mademoiselle Durand speak of you as 'Monsieur Silvio,' that I fear – I am afraid – "
Silvio Rossano's head began to swim. He looked at her and said nothing. Then he swore at himself for being a fool and losing his opportunities.
"You see," proceeded Bianca, picking up the train of her thoughts again, "I am afraid I am not like other girls. I have lived most of my life alone, and I suppose I have odd ideas. When I am of age, I shall certainly please myself – but until then, I have to please other people. Of course, I know that a man is obliged to speak to a girl's parents before he can tell her that he loves her. But I am quite sure that if I were a man and wanted to know if my love were returned, I should ask the person I loved."
Silvio looked at her curiously.
"And is that your advice to me, Donna Bianca?" he said. "You advise me to ask the girl I love – whom I have loved ever since I first saw her seven months ago, though I have scarcely spoken to her in my life – whether she returns my love?"
"If I were in your place – yes," returned Bianca. "Why not, Mons – Signor Rossano?"
Silvio drew a long breath.
"It is what I came here this afternoon to do," he said, quietly.
Bianca looked at him with a bewildered expression. The blood left her face and she became very pale.
"What – you came here to do?" she repeated, slowly – "here? I do not understand."
"Ah, no? You do not understand? Then I will take your advice – I will make you understand." The words came to his lips fast enough now.
"Dear," he burst out, "you shall understand. I love you! Do you know what it means – love? I have loved you ever since that night – that Christmas night – when you looked into my eyes with yours. Do you understand now? I know I have no right to love you – no right to ask you to be my wife – for you are Donna Bianca Acorari, Princess of Montefiano, and I am – nobody. But this is what I have come to ask you – only this – whether you love me? If you do, I swear by God and by the Son of God that I will marry you, or I will marry no woman. If you do not love me, or will not love me, send me away from you – now, at once."
Bianca Acorari sprang up from her chair.
"Me?" she exclaimed. "You love me? Ah, but it is absurd – how can you love me? You are mad – or dreaming. You have forgotten. It is she you love – that other one – "
Silvio seized her hand almost roughly.
"Bianca!" he said, hoarsely, "what, in God's name, do you mean? I love you – you only. I have never looked at another woman – I never knew what love meant till I saw you."
Suddenly Bianca began to tremble violently. In a moment Silvio's arms were round her, and he was pressing hot, passionate kisses to her lips.
"Bianca!" he exclaimed. "Tell me – for God's sake, tell me – "
With a quick gesture she yielded herself wholly to him, drawing his face to hers and running her hands through his close, curly hair.
"Silvio," she whispered, "ah, Silvio! And it was I all the time! I thought – Mademoiselle Durand pretended that it was somebody else – some girl like me – and all the time I wondered why I cared – why I was angry – "
His arms were round her again, and he crushed her to him, while his lips blinded her eyes.
"Ah, Silvio mio," she sighed, "it is too much – you hurt me – ah, but it is sweet to be hurt by you – "
Suddenly she wrenched herself from him, crimson and trembling.
"God!" she exclaimed. "What have I done – what must you think of me? I did not know love was like that. It – hurts."
Silvio laughed aloud in the very intoxication of his joy.
"Beloved," he said, "that is only the beginning."
But Bianca shook her head. "I must be very wicked," she said. "I did not know I was quite so wicked. Silvio," she added, looking at him, shyly, "for the love of God, go! It is getting late. At any moment they may be coming to look for me. No – not again – "
"But I must speak with you here to-morrow – the day after," urged Silvio.
"Yes," said Bianca, hurriedly. "I must think," she added. "We must confide everything now to Mademoiselle Durand. Ah, Silvio, you should not have loved me – I shall bring you unhappiness."
Silvio looked at her gravely. "If we are true to each other," he said, "everything must come right. Even if we have to wait till you are of age and free to do as you choose, that is not a very long time."
They had left the casino as Silvio was speaking, and Bianca glanced uneasily down the avenue. Not a soul was visible. The rain had cleared away, and the sun, sinking westward, was streaming into the darkest recesses of the ilex grove. No sound broke the stillness except the splashing of the fountains, and now and again the notes of birds announcing that the hot hours were passed and the cool of evening was approaching.
Bianca turned and laid her hands on Silvio's. "Go, beloved," she said. "We must not be seen together – yet."
Silvio drew her to him once more. "Do you know," he said, "that you have never told me whether you will marry me or not?"
Bianca Acorari looked at him for a moment. Then she answered, simply:
"If I do not marry you, Silvio, I will marry no man. I swear it! Now go," she added, hastily – "do not delay a moment longer. I will communicate with you through Mademoiselle Durand."
"After all," said Silvio, "even if we have to wait three years – "
Bianca stamped her foot on the turf.
"Silvio," she exclaimed, "if you do not go, now – at once – I will not marry you for six years."
She turned away from him and sped down the avenue, while Silvio vanished through the undergrowth.
And the ilex grove was left in possession of the spirits of Pan and his Luperci; also in that of Monsieur d'Antin, who, with a little chuckle, stepped from behind the casino and emerged into the sunlight.