eing the pleasing title she had bestowed upon
Signorina Luisa Rigey.

The Rigey family, consisting of the two ladies only, lived at Castello,
in Valsolda, so it was not difficult to watch their movements.
Nevertheless the Marchesa could not discover anything. But one evening
Pasotti told her, with much hypocritical hesitation and many horrified
comments, that the prefect of the Caravina, while chatting with Pasotti
himself, with Signor Giacomo Puttini and with Paolin and Paolon, in the
chemist's shop at San Mamette, had made the following remark: "Don
Franco is going to keep quiet until the old lady is really dead!" The
Marchesa having listened to this delicate piece of wit, answered: "A
thousand thanks!" through her placid nose, and changed the subject.
Later she learned that Signora Rigey--always more or less of an
invalid--was suffering from hypertrophia of the heart, and it appeared
to her that Franco's spirits were much affected by this illness. It was
then that Signorina Carabelli was suggested to her. Carolina Carabelli
was perhaps not entirely to her taste, but with that other danger
threatening she could not hesitate. She spoke to Franco. This time he
did not fly into a rage, but listened in an absent-minded way, and said
he would think the matter over. This was perhaps the one act of
hypocrisy of his whole life. Then the Marchesa boldly played a high
card, and sent for the Carabellis.

She saw plainly enough now, that the game was lost. Don Franco had not
been present when the ladies arrived, and later had appeared only once
for a few minutes. During those few minutes his manner had been
gracious, but not so his expression. As usual his face had spoken so
plainly that--though the Marchesa immediately invented an indisposition
for him--no one could have been deceived. But in spite of all this, the
old lady was not convinced that she had played her cards unskilfully.
Ever since she had reached the age of discretion it had been a rule with
her never to recognise in herself a single defect or mistake, never
wittingly to wound her own noble and beloved self. Now she preferred to
believe that, after her sermon on matrimony, some honeyed but poisonous
and ensnaring word had mysteriously reached her grandson. If her
disappointment was somewhat mitigated, this was due to the conduct of
Signorina Carabelli, whose lively resentment was but ill concealed. This
was not pleasing to the Marchesa. The prefect of the Caravina