"I will make myself intelligible to you," said he, in a milder tone.
"You must understand, that I know you, Corilla. That assassin who
followed the Princess Tartaroff at the festival of Cardinal Bernis, was
employed by you, Signora Maddalena Morelli Fernandez, called Corilla!"
"And what if it were true, Signor Alexis Orloff, called the handsome
Northern Hercules?" asked she, roguishly imitating his grave
seriousness. "If it were really true, what further?"
Alexis looked in her face with an expression of astonishment. "You are
wonderfully bold!" said he.
"None but slaves are without courage!" responded she. "Freedom is the
mother of boldness!"
"You do not, then, deny the hiring of that bravo?"
"I only deny your right to inquire," said she.
"I have a right to it," he responded with vehemence. "This Princess
Tartaroff is a subject of the Empress of Russia, my mistress, who
watches over and protects all her subjects with maternal tenderness."
"That good, tender empress!" exclaimed Corilla, with an ambiguous
smile. "But in order properly to watch and preserve all her children and
subjects, she should keep them in her own country. Take this Princess
Tartaroff with you to Russia, and then she will be safe from our Italian
daggers.
Pages:
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397