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Ugo did not leave everything to his confidential clerk, and the secrets he kept to himself were well kept. Orsino consulted Contini, as a matter of necessity, before accepting Del Ferice's last offer.
"I must cripple, if not ruin, the fortune of my family, or I must go through a scandalous bankruptcy, or I must continue to be Ugo Del Ferice's servant during the best years of my life. My only consolation is that I am unpaid. I do not speak of poor Contini. He is making a reputation, it is true, and Del Ferice gives him something which I increase as much as I can.
The fact that on that memorable night she had bravely resisted a very great temptation did not affect the difficulty of the present case in any way. She asked herself rather whether Del Ferice's eavesdropping would appear to Orsino to be in the nature of an insult to her, to use his own words, and she had no doubt but that it would seem so.
Then she laid her hand upon Del Ferice's arm, and swept angrily past, so that the train of her red silk gown brushed sharply against Corona's soft white velvet. Giovanni remained standing a moment, with a puzzled expression upon his face. "How could you do anything so rude?" asked Corona, very gravely. "She will never forgive you, and she will be quite right."
It would indeed have been very easy to refuse Del Ferice's invitation and to write him a note within the hour explaining vaguely that circumstances beyond his control obliged him to ask another interview for the discussion of business matters. But it was too late now.
"With Del Ferice's confidential clerk. Yes it is quite true. I was with him last night." "And what did he say? What you have been telling me, I suppose." "Something much more disagreeable something you would rather not hear." "I wish to hear it." "You should, as a matter of fact." "Go on." "We are completely in Del Ferice's hands." "We are in the hands of his bank." "What is the difference?
What Orsino might say was of no importance whatever, but the consequences of any action on Del Ferice's part might be serious and lasting. Orsino stated his many reasons for wishing to engage in business, as he had stated them more than once already during the day and during the past weeks, and when he had finished he repeated his first question. "Can you help me to try my luck?" he asked.
Del Ferice's weakness was his unaccountable detestation of Giovanni Saracinesca; and he had so far suffered this abhorrence of the man to dominate his existence, that it had come to be one of his chiefest delights in life to thwart Giovanni wherever he could. How it had begun, or when, he no longer knew nor cared.
You receive the buildings as they now stand and our credit cash if there is any, in full discharge of all the obligations of Andrea Contini and Company to the bank acceptances coming due, balance of account if in debit, and mortgages on land and houses and we are quits again, my firm being discharged of all obligation." Del Ferice's expression changed a little and became more grave.
I would rather see you at Del Ferice's than here." Orsino was quite unable to understand her behaviour, and an older and more experienced man might have been almost as much puzzled as he. A long silence followed, during which he sat quite still and she looked steadily at the cover of a book which lay on the table. "Please go," she said at last, in a voice which was not unkind.
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