“Yes, and if the French are not quick, we shall have the diversion of a siege,” replied Saracinesca rather scornfully.  “That same taking of Monte Rotondo was one of those gallant deeds for which Garibaldi is so justly famous.  He has six thousand men, and there were only three hundred and fifty soldiers inside.  Twenty to one, or thereabouts.”

It is unnecessary to detail the remainder of the conversation.  Saracinesca went off into loud abuse of Garibaldi, confounding the whole Italian Government with him and devoting all to one common destination, while San Giacinto reserved his judgment, believing that there was probably a wide difference between the real intentions of the guerilla general and of his lawful sovereign, Victor Emmanuel the Second, King of Italy.  At last the two men were informed that Corona had returned.  They left the study and found her in the sitting-room.

“Where is Giovanni?” she asked as soon as they entered.  She was standing before the fireplace dressed as she had come in.

“I have no idea where he is,” replied Saracinesca.  “I suppose he is at the club, or making visits somewhere.  He has turned into a very orderly boy since you married him.”  The old man laughed a little.

“I have missed him,” said Corona, taking no notice of her father-in-law’s remark.  “I was to have picked him up on the Pincio, and when I got there he was gone.  I am so afraid he will think I forgot all about it, for I must have been late.  You see, I was delayed by a crowd in the Tritone—­there is always a crowd there.”

Corona seemed less calm than usual.  The fact was, that since the affair which had caused her husband so much annoyance, some small part of which she had perceived, she had been trying to make up to him for his disappointment in not knowing her secret, by being with him more than usual, and by exerting herself to please him in every way.  They did not usually meet during the afternoon, as he generally went out on foot, while she drove, but to-day they had agreed that she should come to the Pincio and take him for a short drive and bring him home.  The plan was part of her fixed intention to be more than usually thoughtful where he was concerned, and the idea that she had kept him waiting and that he had gone away caused her more regret than would have been natural in the ordinary course of events.

In order to explain what now took place, it is necessary to return to Giovanni himself who, as Corona had said, had waited for his wife near the band-stand on the Pincio for some time, until growing weary, he had walked away and left the gardens.