“Be sure,” said he, “that the guilty parties shall be punished without anyone’s knowing the reason”

I then made Tonine come upstairs, and my English friend offered her a glass of wine, which she declined with much modesty and politeness.  Murray looked at her with flaming glances, and left after giving me his heartiest thanks.

Poor little Tonine had been resigned, and obedient for many hours, and she had good cause to think I had been unfaithful to her; however, I gave her the most unmistakable proofs of my fidelity.  We stayed in bed for six hours, and rose happy in the morning.

After dinner I hurried off to my noble M——­ M——­, and told her the whole story.  She listened eagerly, her various feelings flitting across her face.  Fear, anger, wrath, approval of my method of clearing up my natural suspicions, joy at discovering me still her lover—­all were depicted in succession in her glance, and in the play of her features, and in the red and white which followed one another on her cheeks and forehead.  She was delighted to hear that the masker who was with me in the parlour was the English ambassador, but she became nobly disdainful when I told her that he would gladly give a hundred guineas a month for the pleasure of visiting her in the parlour.  She was angry with him for fancying that she had been in his power, and for finding a likeness between her and a portrait, when, so she said, there was no likeness at all; I had given her the portrait.  She added, with a shrewd smile, that she was sure I had not let my little maid see the false nun, as she might have been mistaken.

“You know, do you, that I have a young servant?”

“Yes, and a pretty one, too.  She is Laura’s daughter, and if you love her I am very glad, and so is C——­ C——.  I hope you will let me have a sight of her.  C——­ C——­ has seen her before.”

As I saw that she knew too much for me to be able to deceive her, I took my cue directly and told her in detail the history of my amours.  She shewed her satisfaction too openly not to be sincere.  Before I left her she said her honour obliged her to get Capsucefalo assassinated, for the wretch had wronged her beyond pardon.  By way of quieting her I promised that if the ambassador did not rid us of him within the week I would charge myself with the execution of our common vengeance.

About this time died Bragadin the procurator, brother of my patron, leaving M. de Bragadin sufficiently well off.  However, as the family threatened to become extinct, he desired a woman who had been his mistress, and of whom he had had a natural son, to become his wife.  By this marriage the son would have become legitimate, and the family renewed again.  The College of Cardinals would have recognized the wife for a small fee, and all would have gone admirably.

The woman wrote to me, asking me to call on her; and I was going to, curious to know what a woman, whom I did not know from Adam, could want with me, when I received a summons from M. de Bragadin.  He begged me to ask Paralis if he ought to follow De la Haye’s advice in a matter he had promised not to confide to me, but of which the oracle must be informed.  The oracle, naturally opposed to the Jesuit, told him to consult his own feelings and nothing else.  After this I went to the lady.