She reached
the Serristori barracks and was stunned by the explosion. Gouache
found her there many hours later. When you saw us together a
little earlier he was telling me he loved her. He is a man of
honour. He saw that the only way to save her good name was to
bring her here and let me take her home. He sent me a word by the
porter, while she waited in the shadow. I ran down and found her
there. We purposely prevented the porter from seeing her. I took
her to her father's house, and sent Gouache away, for I was angry
with him. I believed he had led an innocent girl into following
him--that it was a pre-arranged meeting and that she had gone not
realising that there was a revolution. I invented the story of her
having lost herself here, in order to shield her. The next day
Gouache came. I would not speak to him and went to my room. The
servants told me he was gone, but as I was coming back to you I
met him. He stopped me and made me believe what is quite true, for
Faustina has acknowledged it. She followed him of her own accord,
and he had no idea that she was not safe at home. I forgave him.
He said he was going to the frontier and asked me to give him a
blessing. It was a foolish idea, perhaps, but I did as he wished.
If you had come forward like a man instead of listening we would
have told you all.
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