“Bravo! bravo!” cried the Marchese, gleefully rubbing his hands.  “And now, my good friend, I won’t keep you from the bed and the rest you so well deserve any longer.  You may depend on it that your zeal in this matter won’t be overlooked or forgotten.”

“Troppo buono, Eccellenza!  But there was one word I wished to say to your lordship,” continued little Signor Ercole, dropping his voice to a lower key, and speaking with some hesitation,—­one little word that I thought it might be useful, or—­or—­desirable to mention—­”

“Yes, speak on, my dear Signor Ercole, I am all attention.  What is it?  No drawback I hope!”

“Only this, Signor Marchese,” said the little man casting a glance round the room, dropping his voice still more, and bringing his head nearer to the ear of the Marchese; “only this:—­you see if there had been nothing-disagreeable,—­nothing untoward, as I may say—­your lordship understands, we should never have had La Lalli at Ravenna.  There has been a—­sort of difficulty—­your lordship understands—­ spiteful things have been said—­calumny—­all calumny no doubt-the constant attendant of merit, alas! we all know.  But—­in short—­here in Ravenna—­it would not be—­desirable,—­your Excellency understands and appreciates what I would say a thousand times better than I can say it.  It would be in every point of view better, as your Excellency sees, that no idle chatter of this kind should be set about here.  It would be inexpedient for more reasons than one.”

“Quite so; quite so.  Your ideas on the subject are happily judicious, Signor Ercole.  What have we to do with misunderstandings that may have arisen at Milan?  Of course, it is not our business to have ever heard anything of the kind.  And I’ll tell you what I’ll do, and that at once, before there is time for any mischief to be done.  I will just give my nephew a hint.  He can be trusted.  He is discreet.  And it will be easy for him to put down at once and discountenance any talk of the kind, or any rumour that might find its way among our youngsters.”

“The very thing, Eccellenza!  The Marchese Ludovico will understand the thing at once.  And half a word from him would give the key-note, as I may say, to the tone of talk about the lady.  Ravenna must not be thought to be contenting herself with that which Milan rejects,” said Signor Ercole, with the air of a patriot.

“I should think not, indeed!  And, doubtless, Milan would have been but too glad to retain La Lalli, had it not been for some unimportant contretemps.  Ludovico shall put the matter in its right light.”

As he spoke, the Marchese rang a little hand-bell which stood on his library table; and on a servant entering from the anteroom, he told him just to step across to the Circolo, and request the Marchese Ludovico to be so good as to come to him for five minutes.

In very little more than that time the man returned, saying that the Marchese Ludovico was not at the Circolo.  He had been there for a few minutes at the beginning of the evening, but had gone away without saying whither he was going.