CHAPTER III
"Armed at All Points"
The quartiere which La Lalli found prepared at Ravenna for her and hertravelling companion was a very eligible one. It consisted of a verynicely-furnished sitting-room, with a bed-room opening off on one sidefor herself, and another similarly situated on the other side for herfather. There was also, behind, one little closet for a servant to sleepin, and another, still smaller, intended to serve as a kitchen.
On the morning following the conversation related in the last chapterBianca, hearing Quinto coming out of his bed-room into the sitting-roomabout nine o'clock, called out to him from her bed:
"Oh, papa! I forgot to tell you last night that the Marchese and SignorStadione are to be here at one o'clock to-day to hear me, and settleabout the night of the 6th, you know."
"All right, bambina mia! I will be back in time. I'm going to the cafeto get some breakfast," called out Quinto through the door.
"Yes. But, papa, be here at one o'clock, and do not come back beforethat. E inteso? And send me a cup of chocolate from the cafe."
"Inteso! I'll be here at one, and not before," said the old man throughthe door, with special emphasis on the last words.
Then Bianca called her maid, told her to bring the chocolate to her assoon as it came from the cafe, and then to come and dress her at ten.Whether the intervening time was spent in sleep or meditation may bedoubted; but, at all events, when the hour for action came Bianca wasready for it.
By means of the skilled and practised assistance of Gigia Daddi, themaid who had been with her ever since the first beginning of her stagecareer, the Diva had completed her toilette by half-past eleven. But shehad had, to a certain degree, a double toilette to perform. All thecomponent parts of a rich and very becoming morning-costume had beenselected and assorted with due care, and minute attention to the effecteach portion of it was calculated to produce in combination with therest; and then they had been not put on, but laid out in order on thebed. The more immediate purpose of the Diva was to array herselfdifferently--differently, but by no means with a less careful andwell-considered attention to the result which was intended to beproduced.
The magnificent hair was brushed till it gleamed like burnished gold asthe sun-rays played upon it. But when ready to be coiled in the artisticmasses, which Gigia knew well how to arrange, variously, according tothe style and nature of the effect designed to be produced, it was leftuncoiled, streaming in great ripples over back and shoulders in itsprofuse abundance. An exquisite little pair of boots, of black satin,clasping ankle and instep like a glove, were chosen to match the blacksatin dress laid out on the bed: but, like the dress, were not put on.The place of the black satin dress was supplied by a wrapper of veryfine white muslin, edged with delicate lace, so shaped with consummateskill that, though the snowy folds seemed to lie loosely within thegirdle that confined them at the waist, no part of the effect of theround elastic slimness of the waist was lost; open at the neck, from apoint about a span beneath the collar-bone, it allowed the whole of thenoble white column of the grandly-formed throat to be visible from itsbase above the bosom to the opening out of the exquisite lines about thenape of the neck into the tapering swelling of the classically-shapedhead. The exact arrangement of the shape of this opening of the dress,from the throat down to about a hand's-breadth above the girdle, wasvery carefully attended to; the lace-edged folds of the muslin beingthree or four times drawn a little more forward so as to conceal, or alittle back so as to show, a more liberal glimpse of the swelling bosomon either side, by the doubting Diva, as she stood before the glass.
"E troppo, cosi." she said to her attendant at last. "Is that too muchso?"
Gigia looked critically before she answered, "To receive, yes,--alittle, perhaps. But to be caught unawares, no; and then with ahandkerchief, you know--"
"Oh, yes! One knows the exercise," said Bianca, with a laugh; "blush andcall attention to it by covering it with one's handkerchief, which fallsdown as often as one chooses to repeat the manoeuvre. A chi lo dite?"
"Style?" said Gigia.
"Sentimental,--eyes soft and dreamy; therefore the very faintest blushof rouge. Yes; not a shade more."
"You won't put your bottines on?"
"No; there'll be time afterwards. Give me a pair of bronze kid slippers.After all, there is nothing that shows a foot so well: and look here,Gigia, draw this stocking a little better; I'd almost as soon have awrinkle in my face as in the silk on my instep. That's better! Thenarrow black velvet with the jet cross for my neck, nothing else. Now,you understand? Anybody who comes after one o'clock may be admitted;before that you will let in no soul save the Marchese Lamberto, in casehe should come. I don't at all know that he will. And, Gigia," continuedher mistress, as she passed into the sitting-room, "draw this sofa overto the other side of the fireplace, so as to face the window; ten yearshence, when you have to place a sofa for me, you may put it justcontrariwise--so, with the head at the side of the fireplace, and pushthe table a little further back so as to leave room for the easy-chairthere to stand near the foot of the sofa facing the fire. That will do.Now, be sure of your man before you let him in. The Marchese Lamberto,mind, an elderly gentleman--not the Marchese Ludovico, who is a youngman. If he or anybody else should come before one o'clock tell them thatI can see nobody till that time. Now, don't bring me the wrong man; and,Gigia, if he comes, don't announce him, you know. Just open the doorquietly, and let him walk into the room without disturbing me--youunderstand?"
"A chi lo dite, Signora mia! Lasciate fare a me! Is it the first time?"said Gigia.
"If only one could hope that it would be the last," returned hermistress with a half laugh, half sigh.
By the time all these arrangements were made it was nearly twelveo'clock; and Bianca, dismissing her maid, placed herself, not withoutsome care in the arrangement of her delicate draperies, on the sofa.
The judicious Gigia had said that the extent of snowy bosom exposed wasnot too liberal, due consideration being had to the circumstance thatthe Diva was to be caught by an unexpected surprise in an undress. So,as Bianca meant to be very much surprised, she carefully, and withdainty fingers, drew back the muslin on either side just a thought, soas to permit to an exploring eye merely such a suggestive peep of theswelling curves on either side as might furnish an estimate of theoutline of the veiled heights beyond. She smiled, half with pleasedconsciousness and half with self-mockery, as she did so: then carefullyarranged her drapery so as to allow two slim ankles to be visible justat the point where they crossed each other in a position which exhibitedthe curved instep of one slender foot in a full front view, and the sideof the other negligently thrown across it. The pose was artisticallyperfect. Lastly, with one or two dexterous touches and shakes, she soarranged her wealth of hair as to combine an appearance of the mostperfect negligee with a thoroughly artistic disposition of it, which,while it displayed to the best advantage the tresses themselves, servedalso to heighten the effect of the contours of neck and bust, which theypartly showed and partly concealed.
And then the Diva waited patiently.
She had, as she had said to Gigia, no certain knowledge that he wouldcome, nor even any very clear reason to believe that he would doso--that he would come, that is to say, earlier than one o'clock, atwhich hour it had been arranged that he should meet Stadione there.Nevertheless, Bianca had a strong persuasion that he would come earlier.Despite what she had said to Quinto Lalli of the circumstances and signswhich seemed to indicate that the Marchese was not a man likely to beexposed to danger from such attacks as the Diva meditated making onhim,--despite the fact that she had said to herself also all that shehad said to her old friend, there had been something about theMarchese's manner--something in that last pressure of palm to palm thathad set Bianca speculating as to the meaning of it. It was not a meremanifestation of admiration; the Diva was used enough to that in all itsforms, and could read every tone of its language. It was more likewonder and curiosity,--at
all events, it was not indifference. She hadseen with half an eye, and without the slightest appearance of seeingit, that the Marchese could not keep his eyes away from her. During thedrive to the city, and afterwards at the Palazzo Castelmare, while shewas making the acquaintance of the principal people of the city, it hadbeen the same thing. And nothing could be further than was theMarchese's manner, from the bold, unabashed staring, which suchbeautiful Divas as Bianca have often to endure. He evidently wasdevouring her with his eyes on the sly. Evidently he did not wish to beobserved looking at her as he did look. Whenever her own eyes caught himin the fact, his were on the instant withdrawn: to return, as Biancawell marked, on the next instant.
Then, after those first words, which he had addressed to her at theirmeeting in the road, she had noted that he did not speak to her, as shesat by his side in the carriage, with the simple ease and freedom ofindifference. There was almost something approaching to a manifestationof emotion in his manner of addressing her. It could not be that thiselderly gentleman,--this very mature Marchese, had fallen in love withher already. Such an idea would have been too absurd! Yet his wholebearing was odd and ill at ease.
It had seemed to himself as if some subtle material influence affectedhim, as he sat by her side,--as if a magnetic emanation came forth fromher that mounted to his brain, and disordered his pulses, and the flowof his blood. He had sat by the side of women as beautiful before now,and never been conscious of being affected in any similar manner. Whatit was that produced such an effect upon his nervous system,--what wasthe matter with him, he could not for the life of him imagine. It wasunpleasant; he did not like it at all. And yet some irresistiblestimulus and curiosity drove him to prolong rather than to avoid thesorcery.
Bianca was by no means fully aware of the power and of the strength ofthe sorcery which she was exercising on the Marchese. But she understooda great deal more about it than he did. And when, in making theappointment for him and the impresario to call on her at one o'clock, hehad asked her if that was too early for her habits, and she had replied,that she was always afoot much earlier than that, Bianca had feltpersuaded that he would be at the door at an earlier hour.
And her experience, or her instinct, with reference to such matters hadnot deceived her.
The quarter-past twelve had not struck, when the Diva heard a knock atthe door of her apartment.
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