Major de Pyrmont delivered the missive at Laura’s box.  He went down to the duchess’s chasseur, and gave him certain commands and money for a journey.  Looking about, he beheld Wilfrid, who implored him to take his place for two minutes.  De Pyrmont laughed.  ’She is superb, my friend.  Come up with me.  I am going behind the scenes.  The unfortunate impresario is a ruined man; let us both condole with him.  It is possible that he has children, and children like bread.’

Wilfrid was linking his arm to De Pyrmont’s, when, with a vivid recollection of old times, he glanced at his uniform with Vittoria’s eyes.  ‘She would spit at me!’ he muttered, and dropped behind.

Up in her room Vittoria held council with Rocco, Agostino, and the impresario, Salvolo, who was partly their dupe.  Salvolo had laid a freshly-written injunction from General Pierson before her, bidding him to exclude the chief solo parts from the Third Act, and to bring it speedily to a termination.  His case was, that he had been ready to forfeit much if a rising followed; but that simply to beard the authorities was madness.  He stated his case by no means as a pleader, although the impression made on him by the prima donna’s success caused his urgency to be civil.

‘Strike out what you please,’ said Vittoria.

Agostino smote her with a forefinger.  ’Rogue! you deserve an imperial crown.  You have been educated for monarchy.  You are ready enough to dispense with what you don’t care for, and what is not your own.’

Much of the time was lost by Agostino’s dispute with Salvolo.  They haggled and wrangled laughingly over this and that printed aria, but it was a deplorable deception of the unhappy man; and with Vittoria’s stronger resolve to sing the incendiary song, the more necessary it was for her to have her soul clear of deceit.  She said, ’Signor Salvolo, you have been very kind to me, and I would do nothing to hurt your interests.  I suppose you must suffer for being an Italian, like the rest of us.  The song I mean to sing is not written or printed.  What is in the book cannot harm you, for the censorship has passed it; and surely I alone am responsible for singing what is not in the book—­I and the maestro.  He supports me.  We have both taken precautions’ (she smiled) ’to secure our property.  If you are despoiled, we will share with you.  And believe, oh! in God’s name, believe that you will not suffer to no purpose!’

Salvolo started from her in a horror of amazement.  He declared that he had been miserably deceived and entrapped.  He threatened to send the company to their homes forthwith.  ‘Dare to!’ said Agostino; and to judge by the temper of the house, it was only too certain, that if he did so, La Scala would be a wrecked tenement in the eye of morning.  But Agostino backed his entreaty to her to abjure that song; Rocco gave way, and half shyly requested her to think of prudence.  She remembered Laura,