He did not know
certainly that Faustina would come there, and indeed there were
many probabilities against her doing so, but in the hopefulness of
a man thoroughly in love, Gouache looked forward to seeing her
with as much assurance as though the matter had been arranged and
settled between them.
The parish church of Sant' Agostino is a very large building. The
masses succeed each other in rapid succession from seven o'clock
in the morning until midday, and a great crowd of parishioners
pass in and out in an almost constant stream. It was therefore
Gouache's intention to arrive so early as to be sure that Faustina
had not yet come, and he trusted to luck to be there at the right
time, for he was obliged to visit the temporary barrack of his
corps before going to the church, and was also obliged to attend
mass at a later hour with his battalion. On presenting himself at
quarters he learned to his surprise that Monte Rotondo had not
surrendered yet, though news of the catastrophe was expected every
moment. The Zouaves were ordered to remain under arms all day in
case of emergency, and it was only through the friendly assistance
of one of his officers that Anastase obtained leave to absent
himself for a couple of hours. He hailed a cab and drove to the
church as fast as he could.
Pages:
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269