A Siren

by Thomas Adolphus Trollope

  CHAPTER VI

  At the Circolo again

  At the Circolo that evening there was no lack of subject forconversation, as may be easily imagined. The rooms were very full, andevery tongue was busy with the same topic.

  "For my part I don't believe that La Bianca is dead at all. What proofhave we of the fact? Somebody has been told that somebody else heardsome other pumpkin-head say so. Report, signori miei, is an habitualliar, and I for one never believe a word she says without evidence ofthe truth of it," said the Conte Luigi Spadoni, a man who was known tomake a practice of reading French novels, and was therefore held to bean esprit fort and a philosopher, in accordance with which character healways professed indiscriminate disbelief in everything.

  "Oh come, Spadoni, that won't do this time. Bah, you are the only livingsoul in the town that don't believe it then. Evidence, per Dio! Go andask the men at the Porta Nuova, who received the body, when thecontadini brought it in," cried a dozen voices at once.

  "But Spadoni has the weakness of being so excessively credulous," said abald young man with gold spectacles, looking up from a game of chess hewas playing in a corner.

  "Who, I? I credulous? That is a good one! Why I said, man alive, that Idisbelieved it," cried Spadoni, eagerly.

  "I know it, and very credulous indeed it seems to me, to believe thatall the people, who say they have seen the prima donna's dead body,should be mistaken in such a fact, or conspiring without motive todeclare it falsely. I call that very credulous," said the chess-player,quietly.

  "Did you ever see such an addle-pate. He can't understand the differencebetween believing and disbelieving," rejoined Spadoni triumphantly, andcarrying the great bulk of the bystanders with him.

  "But as to the poor girl being dead, there is unhappily no shadow ofdoubt at all," said the Baron Manutoli; "I saw old Signor Fortini thelawyer just now, who told me that he was at the Porta Nuova when thebody was brought in."

  "And is it true that the Marchese Ludovico was with him, and fainteddead away at the sight of the body?" said a very young man.

  "It is true that Ludovico was there with Fortini at the gate, but Iheard nothing about his fainting; and should not think it very likely."

  "Well, I don't know about that, I should have thought it likely enoughby all accounts," said the Conte Leandro Lombardoni, whose face waslooking more pasty and his eyes more fishy than usual.

  "Much you know about it. Why, in the name of all the saints, should itbe likely? What should Ludovico faint for?" rejoined Manutoli, fiercely.

  "What for? Well, one has heard of such things. And as for what I knowabout it, Signor Barone, maybe I have the means of knowing more about itthan anybody here," said the poet.

  "Here is Lombardoni confesses he knows all about it," cried one.

  "That ought to be told to the Commissary of Police" said another

  "I say, my notion is that Lombardoni did it himself," exclaimed a third.

  "Ah, to be sure. What is more likely? We all know how the poor Divasnubbed him. Remember the fate of his verses. If that is not enough todrive a man and a poet to do murder I don't know what is. To be sure,'twas Leandro did it," rejoined the first.

  "I can believe that, if I never believe anything else," said Spadoni.

  "Let's send to the Commissary and tell him that the Conte Leandroconfesses that it was he that murdered La Bianca, cried one of theprevious speakers.

  "What on earth are you dreaming of," cried the persecuted poet, turningghastly livid with affright; "I know nothing about the matter, nothing!How in the world should I know anything about it?"

  "Oh, I thought you knew more about it than anybody else just now,"sneered one of his persecutors.

  "He looks to me very much as if he did know something about it in soberearnest," said the bald-headed chess-player; who had been looking hardat the evidences of terror on the poet's face.

  "But where is the Marchese Ludovico?" asked the same young man, who hadheard that the Marchese had fainted at the sight of the body.

  A general silence fell on the chattering group at this question: tillManutoli answered with a very grave face "Ah, you must ask theCommissary of Police that question, Signor Marco."

  "You don't mean that he is arrested," returned the youngster thusaddressed.

  Manutoli nodded his head two or three times gravely, as he said, "Thatis the worst of the bad business; and a very bad business it is in everyway."

  "You don't mean that you think Ludovico can have done it, Manutoli?"said one of the others.

  "No, I don't say I think so. I don't know what to think. I should havesaid, that I was just as likely to do such a thing myself, as Ludovicodi Castelmare. But if there is any truth in what is said, that theMarchese Lamberto was going to marry the girl, it looks very ugly. Godknows what a man might be driven to do in such a case."

  "I suppose if the old Marchese were to marry and have children, Ludovicowould have about the same fortune as the old blind man that sits at thedoor of the Cathedral?" asked the previous speaker.

  "Just about as much. He would be absolutely a beggar," said the ConteLeandro, who appeared to find considerable pleasure in the announcement.

  "I think, that if that was the case, and Ludovico had put the unluckygirl out of the way, it would be the Marchese Lamberto who ought to bearthe blame of it. An old fellow has no right to behave in that sort ofway," said one of the group.

  "Of course he has not. To bring a fellow up to the age of Ludovico inthe expectation that he is to have the family property; and then to takeit into his head to marry when he is past fifty. If Ludovico had put aknife into him instead of into the girl, I should have said that itserved him right," said another.

  "And what was the good of murdering the girl? If the old fellow wants tobe married, he will marry some other girl if not this one. Girls areplenty enough," said a third.

  "Ay, but not such girls as La Bianca--what a lovely creature she was! Idon't wonder at the Marchese being caught by her, for my part, seeingher every day as he did," remarked a fourth.

  "Bah, girls are plenty enough, as Gino said, and pretty girls too. Andif the Marchese was minded to marry, it wasn't the murder of this poorgirl that would stop him," said one of the others.

  "And that is a strong reason, as it strikes me, for thinking thatLudovico had nothing to do with it. He must have known, as well as we,that it was likely enough his uncle would find somebody else," remarkedManutoli.

  "Well, we shall see. But I would wager a good round sum that Ludovicodid it," said the Conte Leandro; who had by that time recovered histranquillity.

  "Oh, now here's Leandro, who begins to think again that he does knowsomething about it," said the Barone Manutoli.

  "I said nothing of the sort, Signor Barone. How should I know? Buteverybody may have his opinion, and that is mine. We shall seeby-and-by," returned Leandro, waspishly.

  "I'll tell you what, signori miei," said Manutoli; "let it turn out asit may, it is the saddest and worst affair that has been seen in Ravennafor many a day. I won't admit the thought, for my part, that theMarchese Ludovico has really committed this murder. I should prefer tosuppose, that some vagabonds had done it for the sake of robbery, andhad been disturbed before they could carry out their purpose, oranything. But it is a very sad affair. I would have done I don't knowwhat, rather than that it should have happened. Think what will be said.That's what an artist gets by venturing to Ravenna. You will see thenoise that will be made all over Italy."

  "But why does it follow that anybody is to blame, at all? Why may shenot have put herself to death?" said one of the previous speakers.

  "A suicide! that is a new idea. But it does not seem a very promisingone. Why should she kill herself? She was in the full tide of success,and had just received an offer of marriage, if what we hear is true,from the richest man in Ravenna. Is it likely that she should choosejust that moment to make away with herself?" replied another.

  "In any case the doctors will know what to t
ell us about that. They canalways tell whether anybody has killed themselves or been murdered bysomebody else."

  "By the way, Signor Barone, have you heard whether the medical reporthas been made yet? But I suppose the police would not let us know whatthe doctor's opinion was, if it had been made. Who knows who has beenemployed to examine the body?"

  "I know!" answered the Baron Manutoli, "the Professore Tomosarchi. Andwhatever can be found out by examining the body, he will find out,depend upon it. I was asking about it just now. The examination willtake place to-morrow morning."

  "But who ever heard of such a thing as going off to the Pineta at thattime in the morning, and after being up all night at a ball too?" saidLombardoni, spitefully. "Why, it looks as if a man must have had somescheme, some out-of-the-way motive of some kind to do such a thing."

  "Not at all," returned Manutoli angrily, "I don't see that at all. Acharmingly imagined frolic, I should say, a capital wind-up for a lastnight of carnival. I should have liked it myself."

  "And then," said one of the others, "one can't refuse such a girl as LaBianca. And it's two to one that she asked Ludovico to take her, for alark."

  "But I happen to know," said Leandro, quickly, "that it was he whoproposed it to her. He persuaded her to go."

  "And how in the world do you know that, pray?" asked Manutoli, turningsharply upon him.

  "I--I heard it said. I was told so. I am sure I don't know who it wassaid so. Nobody has been talking about anything else. Some fellow orother said that Ludovico had proposed the trip to her."

  "The fact is, in short, that you know just nothing at all about it. Youhappen to know, forsooth! It seems to me, Signor Conte, that you arestrangely ready to fancy you know anything that might seem to go againstLudovico," rejoined Manutoli.

  "And what would be the result if it should turn out that he wasguilty--if he were condemned?" asked one of the younger men, lookingafraid of his words, as he spoke them.

  "God knows,--the galleys, I suppose. But one must not imagine such athing. It is too frightful," said Manutoli.

  "Horrible! Shocking! Impossible!" cried a chorus of voices.

  "Good God! Result! The disgrace and destruction of the noblest family inthe province. The ending of a fine old name in infamy. Gracious heaven,it is too horrible to think of," exclaimed Manutoli, with much emotion.

  "It would kill the old Marchese as dead as a door-nail, for one thing,"said another of the group of young men.

  "And serve him right too. If it is really true that he has contemplatedbeing guilty of such a monstrous piece of injustice and folly," said thesame man, who had before expressed a similar opinion.

  Just then a servant of the Circolo came into the room and put a noteinto the hands of the Baron Manutoli.

  "It is from Ludovico, asking me to go to him. So there's an end to ourgame of billiards, Signor Conte," said Manutoli to one of the group; "Imust go at once."

  "But you'll come back here after you've seen him, won't you? You'll comeback and tell us all about it, Manutoli?" said two or three of the groupwhich had been discussing the topic.

  "I don't know, I shall see. I will, if I can--if it's not too late. Itmay be that I shall be detained with him. I suppose that he has had nomeans of communicating with any of his people since the police folkclapped their hands on him."

  "Do look in here for a moment, Manutoli. We shall all be anxious to hearabout him, poor fellow,", said another of the young men, who had pressedaround Signor Manutoli as soon as it was known from whom his note hadcome.

  "If I can I will. It is likely enough he may want me to go somewhereelse for him. We shall see. A rivederci, Signori."