It was still early when the duchess’s maid came to her, bringing word that her mistress would be glad to visit her.  From the duchess Vittoria heard of the charge against Angelo.  Respecting Captain Weisspriess, Amalia said that she had perceived his object in wishing to bring the great cantatrice to the castle; and that it was a well-devised audacious scheme to subdue Countess Anna:—­“We Austrians also can be jealous.  The difference between us is, that it makes us tender, and you Italians savage.”  She asked pointedly for an affirmative, that Vittoria was glad to reply with, when she said:  “Captain Weisspriess was perfectly respectful to you?” She spoke comforting words of Carlo Ammiani, whom she hoped to see released as soon as the excitement had subsided.  The chief comfort she gave was by saying that he had been originally arrested in mistake for his cousin Angelo.

“I will confide what is now my difficulty here frankly to you,” said the duchess.  “The Lenkensteins are my guests; I thought it better to bring them here.  Angelo Guidascarpi has slain their brother—­a base deed!  It does not affect you in my eyes; you can understand that in theirs it does.  Your being present—­Laura has told me everything—­at the duel, or fight, between that young man and Captain Weisspriess, will make you appear as his accomplice—­at least, to Anna it will; she is the most unreasoning, the most implacable of women.  She returned from the Ultenthal last night, and goes there this morning, which is a sign that Captain Weisspriess lives.  I should be sorry if we lost so good an officer.  As she is going to take Father Bernardus with her, it is possible that the wound is serious.  Do you know you have mystified the worthy man exceedingly?  What tempted you to inform him that your conscience was heavily burdened, at the same time that you refused to confess?”

“Surely he has been deluded about me,” said Vittoria.

“I do but tell you his state of mind in regard to you,” the duchess pursued.  “Under all the circumstances, this is what I have to ask:  you are my Laura’s guest, therefore the guest of my heart.  There is another one here, an Englishman, a Mr. Powys; and also Lieutenant Pierson, whom, naughty rebel that you are, you have been the means of bringing into disgrace; naturally you would wish to see them:  but my request is, that you should keep to these rooms for two or three days:  the Lenkensteins will then be gone.  They can hardly reproach me for retaining an invalid.  If you go down among them, it will be a cruel meeting.”

Vittoria thankfully consented to the arrangement.  They agreed to act in accordance with it.