"
"His name, Eminence?" asked Gouache, whose whole nature seemed to
have changed in a moment.
"Ah, his name must for the present remain a secret in my keeping,
unless, indeed, you have reason to believe that some one else did
the murder. Have you no suspicions? You know the family
intimately, it seems. You would probably have heard the matter
mentioned, if the deceased prince had been concerned in any
quarrel--in any transaction which might have made him an object of
hatred to any one we know. Do you recall anything of the kind? Sit
down, Monsieur Gouache. You are acquitted, you see. Instead of
being a murderer you are the good friend who once painted my
portrait in this very room. Do you remember our charming
conversations about Christianity and the universal republic?"
"I shall always remember your Eminence's kindness," answered
Gouache, seating himself and trying to speak as quietly as
possible. His nervous nature was very much unsettled by what had
occurred. He had come determined that Faustina should be liberated
at any cost, overcome by the horror of her situation, ready to lay
down his life for her in the sincerity of his devotion. His
conduct had been much more rational than Giovanni's. He had
nothing to lose but himself, no relations to be disgraced by his
condemnation, none to suffer by his loss.
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