When at last it was known that the French troops were on their way from Civita Vecchia, the city seemed to breathe more freely.  General Kanzler, the commander-in-chief of the Pontifical forces, had done all that was humanly possible to concentrate his little army, and the arrival of even a small body of Frenchmen made it certain that Garibaldi could be met with a fair chance of success.  Of all who rejoiced at the prospect of a decisive action, there was no one more sincerely delighted than Anastase Gouache.

So long as the state of siege lasted and he was obliged to follow the regular round of his almost mechanical duty, he was unable to take any step in the direction whither all his hopes tended, and he lived in a state of perpetual suspense.  It was a small consolation that he found time to reflect upon the difficulties of his situation and to revolve in his mind the language he should use when he went to ask the hand of Montevarchi’s daughter.  He was fully determined to take this bold step, and though he realised the many objections which the old prince would certainly raise against the match, he had not the slightest doubt of his power to overcome them all.  He could not imagine what it would be like to fail, and he cherished and reared what should have been but a slender hope until it seemed to be a certainty.  The unexpected quarrel thrust upon him by Sant’ Ilario troubled him very little, for he was too hopeful by nature to expect any serious catastrophe, and he more than once laughed to himself when he thought Giovanni was really jealous of him.  The feeling of reverence and respectful admiration which he had long entertained for Corona was so far removed from love as to make Giovanni’s wrath appear ridiculous.  He would far sooner have expected a challenge from one of Faustina’s brothers than from Corona’s husband, but, since Sant’ Ilario had determined to quarrel, there was no help for it, and he must give him all satisfaction as soon as possible.  That Giovanni had insulted him by entering his lodgings unbidden, and by taking certain objects away which were practically the artist’s property, was a minor consideration, since it was clear that Giovanni had acted all along under an egregious misapprehension.  One thing alone puzzled Anastase, and that was the letter itself.  It seemed to refer to his meeting with Faustina, but she had made no mention of it when he had seen her in the church.  Gouache did not suspect Giovanni of having concocted the note for any purposes of his own, and quite believed that he had found it as he had stated, but the more the artist tried to explain the existence of the letter, the further he found himself from any satisfactory solution of the question.  He interrogated his landlady, but she would say nothing about it, for the temptation of Giovanni’s money sealed her lips.