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Updated: June 5, 2025
Old Astrardente, who had taken no notice of the pair, being annoyed at Giovanni's visit, and much interested in the proceedings of Madame Mayer in the box opposite, heard the noise, and stooped with considerable alacrity to pick up the fan which lay at his feet. "You are not well, my love," he said quickly, as he observed his wife's unusual pallor.
Giovanni, the Astrardente is now a widow." "Seeing that her husband is dead of course. There is vast ingenuity in your deduction," returned the younger man, eyeing his father suspiciously. "Do not be an idiot, Giovannino. I mean, that as she is a widow, I have no objection to your marrying her." "Good God, sir!" cried Giovanni, "what do you mean?" "What I say.
In actual fact, also, the rents are universally paid in kind, and the peasant eats what remains of the produce, so that very little cash is seen in the land. Corona discovered that the income she enjoyed from the lands of Astrardente was collected by the basketful from the threshing-floors, and by the barrel from the vineyards of some two hundred tenants.
On ordinary occasions that resort of his fellows was entirely empty until a much later hour; but Astrardente was not disappointed to-day. Twenty or thirty men were congregated in the large hall which served as a smoking-room, and all of them were talking together excitedly. As the door swung on its hinges and the old dandy entered, a sudden silence fell upon the assembly.
"Nino told the cook's boy," continued Pasquale unmoved, "and the cook's boy told me, your Excellency, that Gigi was passing along the road to Serveti coming here, when he was stopped by a number of guardiani who accompanied a beautiful dark lady in black, who rode upon a mule, and the guardiani asked him if your Excellencies were at Saracinesca; and when he said you were, the lady gave him a coin, and turned at once and rode down the bridle-path towards Astrardente, and he said the guardiani were those of the Astrardente, because he remembered to have seen one of them, who has a scar over his left eye, at the great fair at Genazzano last year.
We did not know what these papers were. Even if we had known, we should have laughed at them until we discovered that we had a cousin. After all we shall not starve, and what is a title? The Pope will give you another when he knows what has happened. I would as soon be plain Don Giovanni as Prince of Sant' Ilario." "For that matter, you can call yourself Astrardente."
When Astrardente was gone, he waited a few minutes, and then sauntered up the Corso again towards the club, debating in his mind how he should turn a good story out of his morning's adventure without making himself appear either foolish or pusillanimous.
"Giovanni and I will spend the night in concocting pretty speeches, and will appear armed with them at dawn before your gates." "There is room in Astrardente," replied Corona. "You shall not lack hospitality for a night. When will you come?" "To-morrow evening, if you please. A good thing should be done quickly, in order not to delay doing it again." "Do you think I would go again?"
"I have just seen the Astrardente," said Donna Tullia, still sitting in her seat. "I will let you guess where it was that we met." "You met in the church of the Capuchins," replied Del Ferice promptly, with a smile of satisfaction. "You are a sorcerer: how did you know? Did you guess it?"
He had been on the point of mentioning old Astrardente, too, but checked himself. "Then there were the young ones, who are in middle age now," he went on, "such as Valdarno and the Montevarchi whom you know, as different from their former selves as you can well imagine. Society was different too."
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