There was but one chance of seeing Faustina, and even that one
offered little probability of an interview. He knew that on Sunday
mornings she sometimes went to church at an early hour with no one
but her maid for a companion. Her mother and Flavia preferred to
rise later and attended another mass. Now it chanced that in the
year 1867, the 22d of October, the date of the insurrection, fell
on Tuesday. Five days, therefore, must elapse before he could see
Faustina on a Sunday, and if he failed to see her then he would
have to wait another week.
Unfortunately, Faustina's early expeditions to church were by no
means certain or regular, and it would be necessary to convey a
message to her before the day arrived. This was no easy matter. To
send anything through the post was out of the question, and
Gouache knew how hard it would be to find the means of putting a
note into her hands through a servant. Hour after hour he
cudgelled his brains for an expedient without success, until the
idea pursued him and made him nervous. The time approached rapidly
and he had as yet accomplished nothing. The wildest schemes
suggested themselves to him and were rejected as soon as he
thought of them. He met some of his acquaintances during the idle
hours of the morning, and it almost drove him mad to think that
almost any one of them could see Faustina any day he pleased.
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