A Siren

by Thomas Adolphus Trollope

  CHAPTER I

  At the City Gate

  Bianca Lalli lay dead at the city gate. Fresh from her triumphs, hersuccesses, her schemes, her hopes, her frolic, at the full tide of herfame, and her matchless beauty, the poor Diva was--dead!

  How she came by such sudden death there was nothing whatever in herappearance to tell--scarcely anything to tell that she was dead. In aquiet composed attitude stretched on her back, she lay in the lightwhite dress she had put on for her excursion with Ludovico. With theexception of a broad blue ribbon round the waist, and another whichbound her wealth of auburn hair, her entire dress was white. It was nowscarcely whiter than her face. But there was on the features neitherdisorder nor sign of pain.

  From a feeling of natural respect for death, and perhaps, also, for theextreme beauty of the young face in death, the bearers of the body hadcovered it with a coarse linen sheet, such as they had chanced to findto hand. But the duty of the officers of the gate would have requiredthem to uncover the face, even if Ludovico in the first agony of hisdoubt had not already done so. There, amid the pitying throng of roughmen, she lay beneath the sombre old gateway vault. The extraordinaryabundance of her hair fell in great loose tresses, some making richcontrast with the white dress that covered her shoulders, and some of itthrown back behind over the door on which the body lay.

  A terrible and deadly sickness came over Ludovico, and his face becamealmost as white as that of the corpse. His head swam round; and, reelingback from the sight that met his eyes, he swooned, and would have fallento the ground had the lawyer not caught him.

  "I suppose," said Fortini, to the men who crowded round the body, whilehe paid attention to the Marchesino,--"I suppose that there can be nodoubt that she is dead?"

  "She's as dead as the door she lies on," said one of the men who hadhelped to carry the body, shaking his head gravely, as he lookedpitifully down on her; "as dead as the door she lies on, more's thepity, for she looks like one of them that find it good to live,--more'sthe pity,--more's the pity."

  "Che bella donna! E proprio un viso d'angiolo," said another; "and soyoung too. There's some heart somewhere that'll be sore for this."

  "Pretty creature; it is enough to break one's own heart to look at heras she lies there," said a third. While a fourth of the rough fellowsstood and sobbed aloud, and let the tears run down his furrowed cheeks,without the smallest effort to control or hide his emotion. For anItalian, especially an Italian man of the people, unlike the men of theTeuton races, is never ashamed of emotion. He very often manifests agreat deal which he does not genuinely feel; but he never seeks to hideany that he does feel.

  All this while the officials at the gate, some six or eight of them,standing thus round the extemporized bier, were closely questioning themen, who had been the bearers; Ludovico and the old lawyer were thusshut out from the circle which had formed itself around the body, andwere on the outside of it. A boy, belonging to one of the gateofficials, brought, at the lawyer's bidding, a glass of cold water, bythe help of which the young Marchese was quickly restored toconsciousness. He was able to rise to his feet again before the officershad concluded their official questioning of those who had brought in thebody. And the lawyer looked anxiously into his face to ascertain that hewas capable of understanding what was said to him, as he stood, stillapparently half-stunned by the shock of the event, against the doorwayof the little dwelling of the gatekeepers.

  "Stand where you are and say nothing; we will go away togetherpresently," whispered the lawyer in his ear, griping him hard at thesame time by the arm, and giving him a little shake, as if to rouse himto comprehension; a mode of speaking and acting on the part of SignorFortini, which would have seemed very extraordinary to the youngMarchese at any other time, but which he was now too much overpowered bywhat had happened to notice.

  Signor Fortini had no official character or function, which in any waygave him the right, or made it his duty to meddle with thecircumstances, that had occurred by chance in his presence. But he wasso well known to all the city, was mixed in one way or another with somany matters of business, and was so much and so generally looked up to,that the people at the gate, hardly knowing what their own duty requiredof them under circumstances so unusual, turned to him for directions asto what they ought to do.

  "What you have to do, my good friend, is simple enough," said thelawyer, addressing the superior official at the gate; "you must, in thefirst place, receive and take charge of the body. You must inquire ofthese good folks all they have to tell you, together with their namesand addresses. You must draw up a processo verbale, embodying all suchinformation; and then you must have the body conveyed to the mortuary atthe hospital, at the same time making your report to the police, anddelivering up the body into their custody. In such a case as this, itwill be well, too, that these worthy men, who have brought the bodyhere, should go with you to the police, the more so," he added, as hisquick eye marked a certain blank look in the faces of the men,--"themore so, as they must be recompensed for their trouble and labour, andit is by the police that the payment for it must be made."

  "Un processo verbale! Yes, one knows that; but under circumstances sostrange--grazie a Dio so unheard of--if your worship would have thekindness to put one in the way of it. Your worship is familiar withaffairs of all sorts. Just an instant."

  "We must hear first what these men have to say. First take down theirnames and addresses."

  The men gave them, as the lawyer remarked to himself, with perfectwillingness and alacrity.

  They then related that having been at work in the forest, cutting up thebranches and trunk of a tree, which had fallen from old age and naturaldecay, they were going to another part of the Pineta, a short distanceoff, where another fallen tree awaited their axes and saws, when theysaw a lady asleep as they thought on a bank. They were about to pass onwithout interfering with her in any way, when one of their partyremarked that it was odd that all the noise they had made had notwakened her, for they had come along laughing, singing, and talkingloudly. This had led them to approach closely to her; and then,--as theylooked at her, a suspicion of the truth began to come to their minds.They touched her, and found that she was dead. She was not quite cold,they said, and were quite sure of that fact. They looked at her, andlooked all around to see if they could perceive any sign of the cause ofher death. But they could see nothing. There was, as far as they couldsee, no trace of blood, either on her dress or anywhere around the spotwhere she lay. And then they had borrowed a door from the farm near St.Apollinare, and had brought the body here, and that was all they knewabout it.

  "Had they seen any other person in the forest that morning?"

  "Not a soul; and they had been in that part of the Pineta, or at leastat no great distance, all the morning from sunrise."

  "Would they be able to find again and to know the spot on which they hadfound the body?" the lawyer asked.

  "Oh, yes," they said, "easily. It was not by the side of any of theordinary tracks through the forest--but not very far from one of them;as if the lady had turned aside from the path, and sought out a quietspot to enjoy a siesta without being disturbed."

  "It is pretty clear," said the lawyer, "that it has been a case ofsudden death during sleep--probably from disease of the heart. Now, myfriend," he said, turning to the senior of the officials, "you have onlysimply to state what we have heard in writing and carry it to thepolice. Meantime, it will be as well to remove the body at once. Let acouple of your people accompany the men who brought it here--they may aswell carry it to the mortuary."

  So a sheet was obtained from a neighbouring house, the more perfectlyand decently to cover the body, preparatory to its being carried throughthe streets. Ludovico stepped hurriedly forward from the doorpost,against which he had been leaning, and looked eagerly once again at thecalmly-tranquil and still beautiful face before they covered it with thesheet. And then the six men took up their burden, and, with two of thegate-officers marching at their head, mov
ed off towards the hospital.

  Then the lawyer put his hand on Ludovico's shoulder in a manner that wasstrange, and that would at once have seemed so to the Marchese had he atthe time had any attention to give to such a circumstance, and said in aperemptory and authoritative sort of voice, very unlike his usual mannerwhen speaking to a person in the social position of the Marchese,

  "Now, come with me, Signor Marchese. Let us go. We can do no more goodhere." And he put his arm within that of Ludovico, as if to lead himaway, as he spoke.

  The Marchese suffered the old man thus to lead him from the gate withoutspeaking a word.

  "Now, Signor Marchese," said the lawyer, as soon as they had turned thecorner of a street, which took them out of sight of the city gate, "now,lose no time. Make for the Porta Adriana, and quit the city by that.There is an osteria in the borgo outside the gate, where you can get abagarino with a quick horse for Faenza; thence cross the mountains intoTuscany. You may easily be over the frontier this night; you have plentyof time, only none to lose. It will be at least two hours before anysteps can be taken; you may be beyond Faenza by that time. Have youmoney about you? If not I can supply you. I have a considerable sumabout me--One word more: Do not venture to remain in Florence. The grandDucal Government would not refuse the demand of the Nuncio in such acase; and the demand would surely be made. Better get on to Leghorn; andmake for Marseilles."

  "Good God, Signor Fortini! What are you talking of; and what are youdreaming of? What is it that you have got into your head?" saidLudovico, rousing himself, and stopping short in his walk to turn roundand face the lawyer.

  "Look here, Signor Marchese, your father was my friend and patron; yourgrandfather was my father's friend and patron; and, therefore, bad asthis business is, I think, and will think, more of old times and oldkindnesses than of what I suppose is my duty now. But don't lose time bytrying to throw dust in my eyes. What is the use of it? What I have gotin my head is what every man, woman and child in Ravenna will have intheir head before this day is over. Have you sufficient money aboutyou?"

  "Signor Fortini, once again I don't know what you are driving at. Iinsist upon your speaking out your entire meaning. What is it youimagine?" said Ludovico, speaking angrily, but now very pale.

  "Imagine! What can I imagine? The matter is, unhappily, but too clear.Why of course I imagine that you have by some means,--which the medicalpeople will find out fast enough, doubt it not,--killed that unfortunatewoman in the Pineta."

  "Signor Fortini!" exclaimed Ludovico, in a voice in which horror,indignation and dismay had equal shares.

  "Marchese, how can anybody have any doubt on the matter. Alas, that Ishould have to say so, it is too self-evident. You persuade this poorcreature to go out alone with you into the Pineta at an extraordinaryhour of the morning, knowing then,--or according to your own showing,becoming aware soon after you started--that it was your uncle'sintention by a marriage with this woman to destroy utterly everyprospect you have in the world. What other human being can have had anyill-will against this woman, or any interest in destroying her? Yourinterest in doing so is of the very strongest possible kind. It was nocase of robbery. The girl was put to death by some one, who had aninterest in doing so. She is last seen alive with you; I find you with asingularly scared and troubled manner pretending to make inquiryrespecting her, your real object evidently being to ascertain whetherthe fact of the murder were yet known, and to give rise to theimpression that you knew nothing of the poor woman's fate. Then, whenconfronted with the corpse you are seen to be absolutely overcome byyour emotion. Now, as I have simply stated the facts, do you imaginethat a moment's doubt will be felt as to who has done this deed?"

  Ludovico felt the cold sweat break out on his forehead, as he listenedto the lawyer's words. The logic of the facts did most unquestionablyseem to make out a fatally strong case against him. And it was difficultto judge--very difficult even for the shrewd and practised lawyer tojudge--whether the consciousness of crime, or the horror of seeing byhow terribly strong evidence the suspicion of crime was brought home tohim, were the cause of the emotion he manifested.

  Signor Fortini, again, with rapid and practised acuteness, ran over allthe circumstances in his mind; and his conclusion, unavoidable, as hefelt it, was that the Marchese must have done the deed. That thecriminal authorities would come to the same conclusion he could not feelthe smallest doubt.

  "Good God! Signor Fortini, this is very dreadful! it is as new to mymind--it comes upon me now for the first time, as much as if I had notknown the fact of her death. But I see it--I see it all; as you put thematter now before me. What am I to do?--gracious heaven, what am I todo?"

  "I have already told you, what you have to do; the only thing that youcan do. You have time enough to make it quite safe, that you may beacross the frontier before any pursuit can overtake you. As for pursuingyou across the frontier, that can only be done diplomatically, and ofcourse by means which would leave you ample time to quit Tuscany."

  "Signor Fortini, I am innocent of this crime. It is a crime whichsickens me with horror to think of. What passed in the Pineta passedexactly as I told you. I left that unhappy girl sleeping, intending tobe absent from her but a few minutes. And as there is a God in heaven Inever again saw her till I saw her dead at the gate," said Ludovico,speaking with intense earnestness.

  "But even if you should convince me, Signor Marchese, that such were intruth the case, whom else do you think you would be able to convince?Not one, not a single soul; above all, certainly not one of those whoare used to the investigation of crime, or of those who would have topronounce judgment on it. If I were perfectly and entirely persuaded ofyour innocence I should still urge you to fly. The facts of the case aretoo strong against you."

  "But is that the advice you would give to an innocent man, SignorFortini? Is that the course which an innocent man would take? Should Inot by flying add such an additional damning circumstance to the othergrounds of suspicion, as to render all possible hope of clearing myselfvain?" remonstrated Ludovico.

  "It is true, it would do so; and the argument is, I am bound to say, theargument of an innocent man. In any other case, in any other case, Ishould say face inquiry and prove your innocence. But, Signor Marchese,I dare not recommend you to do so. The facts, as I said, are too strongfor you. Remember, too, that you do not throw away any chance by flight.For the only possible circumstance that could exonerate you would be thediscovery that the deed was done by some other; and should that ever beproved or provable, you would at once return, plainly stating that youfled, not from guilt, but from a due appreciation of the fatal weight ofsuspicion that the circumstances and the facts cast on you. In such acase, in such a very improbable case, I should not hesitate to testifythat, being by accident made aware of the circumstances, I hadrecommended and urged you to fly. No innocent man is bound to suffer forthe misfortune of lying under a false suspicion if he can help it. Youcannot face the suspicion that will rest upon you; instant flight is theonly course open to you."

  "Did you not say yourself at the gate just now, Signor Fortini," saidLudovico, making a strong effort to recover the use of his almoststunned faculties"--did you not yourself say that it was evidently acase of sudden death, probably from heart disease?"

  "Pshaw! to the people there; to those blockheads at the gate, I said so,of course I did; but the medical folks will soon find out all aboutthat."

  "But again, as you remarked very truly, the only possible motive that Icould be suspected of having for wishing the death of this unfortunatewoman must be supposed to arise from my knowledge of the fact that myuncle had proposed marriage to her."

  "And is not that motive enough, per Dio?" interrupted the lawyer.

  "Doubtless it might, at all events, seem so to some people. But youspoke of my persuading her to go on this unhappy excursion with a view,as your words imply, of committing the crime you suspect me of. Now Iknew nothing of any such intention on the part of my uncle till shecommunicated it to
me when we were in the forest."

  "That is your statement--"

  "And you must remember, Signor Fortini, that I made that statement toyou before I knew anything of her death."

  "Before you knew anything of her death. Pshaw! You are assuming yourinnocence of the deed. Yes, I remember what you said. I remember onlytoo well. Had you not spoken to me, there might have been no proof thatyou knew anything at all of your uncle's purpose. I wish to heaven youhad not said a word to me on the subject. I shall have to testify thatyou declared to me, that your uncle's offer to her had been communicatedto you by her. It will be impossible to avoid that. And it will beimpossible to persuade the magistrate that you had not previousknowledge of such a purpose from other sources."

  "But why should any such intended offer on the part of my uncle be everheard of at all?" urged Ludovico. "He will most assuredly never bewilling to speak of it, and--"

  "Che! As if that old man, her so-called father, will not be open-mouthedas to that--as if he would not proclaim it to the whole city. Ah--h--h!it is a bad business, Signor Marchese, a bad business.

  "And is it possible, Signor Fortini, that you do really in your ownheart believe me to be guilty of this deed?" said Ludovico, with a sighthat was almost a groan, and looking steadily and wistfully into theeyes of his companion.

  "What is more to the purpose, unfortunately, is that it does not signifya straw whether I believe it or not. You will not be judged, SignorMarchese, by my belief; and I am very sure what those who have to judgeyou will believe. I have some experience of these matters. I know thecourts. I see the exceeding difficulty of believing anything else as tothis death than that it was done by your hands; by you, who had theopportunity and the motive, whereas, it is impossible to suggest anysemblance of such motive on the part of any other human being; by you,in whose company she was last seen alive. She had valuable ornamentsabout her person. If you had removed them it would, at least, have leftit open to the magistrates to attribute the deed to another motive, andto other hands. I see all this. I see the whole case before me; and, Itell you, that your only chance is to escape while it is yet time."

  "My solemn assertion, then, produces no effect on your mind, SignorFortini?" said Ludovico, looking at him steadily.

  "Signor Marchese," said the lawyer, with an impatient shake of the head,"let us look at the matter from the opposite point of view. If you hadkilled this woman, let us say, what would your conduct be? Would younot, in that case, make exactly the assertions that you now make? Thatis the terrible consideration that makes all assertion valueless in thecase of such suspicion. But, once again, why dwell on my belief in thematter, which is nothing to the purpose? I have put your position,whether you are guilty or not guilty, clearly before your eyes. Icounsel you, and strongly urge you, while yet unaccused, to escape fromthe accusation, which will be made against you within an hour. I amready to assist you with the means of escaping--"

  "Signor Fortini, I cannot avail myself of them. I have made up my mind Iwill not add another such damning ground of suspicion against me. Here Iwill remain to answer, as best I can, all the accusations that may bebrought against me. I will not fly."

  The old lawyer shook his head and sighed deeply.

  "A bad business," he said, "a very bad business. It will kill theMarchese Lamberto; and I won't say what I would not have given to haveescaped seeing your father's son, Signor Marchese, in the position inwhich you stand."

  "Will you carry your kindness yet one step further, Signor Fortini, and,despite my rejection of your first advice, tell me what you think I hadbetter first do now immediately, I mean--on the supposition that I amdetermined to remain in the city?"

  "I think," said the lawyer, after a pause for consideration, "that thebest course for you to take in the case would be to go at once to themagistrates and make your statement to them of the circumstancesaccording to your own version of the story,--stating that you hastenedto do so on seeing the dead body at the city gate; I think that is thebest thing you can do. Observe, I cannot say that I think it likelythat, if you do so, you will pass this night under the roof of thePalazzo Castelmare; but, if you are determined to remain in the city, Ithink that is the best thing you can do."

  "That, then, I will do," returned the Marchese. "I thank you, SignorFortini, for the advice which I can follow, and not less for that whichI cannot follow. Good-evening."

  "Good-evening, Signor Marchese. I hope it may be better with you than Ifear. And, of course, if you need me, as you will, you will summon me,and I will not fail to be with you within a few minutes of your call."

  "Thanks, Signor Fortini. Addio."

  "One word more, Signor Marchese, before you go. When you uncovered theface of the woman lying dead yonder you exclaimed, 'Paolina!' What wasthe thought that led you to do so? You could not have mistaken theidentity? Of course, you know that I question you only in your owninterest?"

  "Did I say 'Paolina?' replied the Marchese, with an apparent effort atrecollecting himself.

  "You did. On seeing the face you exclaimed, 'Paolina mia!'--so much so,that I felt no doubt that it was this Paolina who lay dead there. Whatwas it moved you to that exclamation?"

  "I don't know. I can't tell. I was very anxious about Paolina. Thethought of her was uppermost in my mind, I suppose."

  "Humph!" said the lawyer, thoughtfully and doubtingly.

  All this conversation had passed hurriedly in the small deserted streetinto which Ludovico and the lawyer had turned on leaving the city gate;and, when they parted, the two men took different directions,--thelawyer returning to the gate with the germ of an idea in his mind, whichthe last portion of his conversation with the Marchese had generatedthere, and which subsequent circumstances tended to develop, and theMarchese Ludovico going in the direction of the Palazzo del Governo.