e the magnitude of what he had suddenly
thought of doing, for the fear of Giovanni was in his heart. The
temptation to boast to Donna Tullia that he had the means of preventing
Giovanni from marrying was too strong; but when it had come to telling
her what those means were, prudence had restrained him. He desired that
if the scheme were put into execution it might be by some one else; for,
extraordinary as it was, he was not absolutely certain of its success. He
was not sure of Donna Tullia's discretion, either, until by a judicious
withholding of the secret he had given her a sufficient idea of its
importance. But on mature reflection he came to the conclusion that, even
if she possessed the information he was able to give, she would not dare
to mention it, nor even to hint at it.

The grey light of Ash-Wednesday morning broke over Rome, and stole
through the windows of Giovanni Saracinesca's bedroom. Giovanni had not
slept much, but his restlessness was due rather to his gladness at having
performed the last of his social duties than to any disturbance of mind.
All night he lay planning what he should do,--how he might reach his
place in the mountains by a circuitous route, leaving the general
impression that he was abroad--and how, when at last he had got to
Saracinesca unobserved, he would revel in the solitude and in the thought
of being within half a day's journey of Corona d'Astrardente. He was
willing to take a great deal of trouble, for he did not wish people to
know his whereabouts; he would not have it said that he had gone into
the country to be near Corona and to see her every day, as would
certainly be said if his real movements were discovered. Accordingly, he
fulfilled his programme to the letter. He left Rome on the afternoon of
Ash-Wednesday for Florence; there he visited several acquaintances who,
he knew, would write to their friends in Rome of his appearance; from
Florence he went to Paris, and gave out that he was going upon a shooting
expedition in the Arctic regions, as soon as the weather was warm enough.
As he was well known for a sportsman and a traveller, this statement
created no suspicion; and when he finally left Paris, the newspapers and
the gossips all said he had gone to Copenhagen on his way to the far
north. In due time the statement reached Rome, and it was supposed that
society had lost sight of Giovanni Saracinesca for at least eight months.
It was thought that he had acted with gre