The horses
were frightened, and Maria looked anxiously out of the window. Jeanne,
seated opposite Giovanni, asked him in a low tone if he had telegraphed
to Don Clemente. Giovanni answered that Don Clemente had been at Villa
Mayda ever since half-past ten. The carriage started forward. When they
reached Piazza Montanara it began to rain. The horses were trotting
rapidly. When at last the coachman brought them down to a walk Maria
looked at her husband--Is not this the Aventine? We must be near. This
was said with the eyes, not with the lips. Jeanne had never passed that
way, but she also felt that they would soon reach their destination.
Holding herself very straight, she stared at the wall, which passed
before her eyes. She stared at it attentively, as if striving to count
the chinks between the stones. The horses broke into a trot. Beyond
Sant' Anselmo the road leads downwards. People standing on the right
and on the left looked into the carriage. Involuntarily Giovanni Selva
murmured:
"Here we are."
Then Jeanne started violently, and covered her face with her hands.
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