" "JEALOUS Y' " "Rocco Criscione, do you take Agrippina Solmo for your lawful wife according to the rite of the Holy Roman Church?" "I do." "And do you, Agrippina Solmo, take for your lawful husband Rocco Criscione, here present, according to the rite of the Holy Roman Church?" "I do." "Join your right hands." "I join you in matrimony in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "#The bride is a real beauty,# #she is like a peach.#" "#I say goodbye to you all and am going home.#" "#Look out the window, darling,# #as I'm bringing you flowers.#" "#Look out the window, darling,# #as I'm bringing you flowers.#" "#Look out the window...#" "Rocco!" "Rocco!" "Come on, Neli." "You're coming with me." " Is this about Rocco?" " Yes." "If it's about Rocco, you are making a mistake." "I didn't kill him." "Good." "That means we'll send you right home." "Commissioner, I'm the father of a family" "I don't deserve such an insult." "Let's go, Neli." "Do you want to cause a scandal?" "The more you talk, the more the town gathers outside." "I've known you for years, we could have done this the friendly way." " A simple interrogation." " No!" "No!" " Let me go!" "Let me go!" " Leave him alone!" "Leave him alone!" "No!" " Take him away!" " No!" "Let him go!" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Papa!" "He's innocent!" "Don't take him away!" " Out of the way!" " Let's go." "Papa!" "Your Excellency, you see how they wrong me?" "March!" "Your Excellency, you have our blessing." "Help me get justice." "They've arrested my father." "He's innocent!" "You all come to me as if I were our Heavenly Father." "I have nothing to do with justice." "If they've arrested him, they must have their reasons." "Don't abandon me." "What shall I do without him?" "What will I feed the two little ones?" "Come by the manor house, ask for a sack of flour." "Neli Casaccio, I accuse you of killing Rocco Criscione." "Do you have anything to say?" "Your Honour, I am innocent." "You have already said that." "Sit down." "The witnesses." "Lo Curzio, Carmine!" "There was bad blood!" "Bad blood." "I don't know why." "But one day when Neli came across Rocco on the castle road..." "Neli shouted, "I'll make you burst into flames!"" "And they showed their knives." "But they broke it up." "I say Neli did the right thing by killing Rocco." "What are you saying, Turi?" " I didn't do it!" " We've been friends thirty years." "Even I would have shot him, if he'd disgraced my daughter!" "It's not true!" "I swear before Christ on the Cross!" "Isn't it true that Rocco would always follow you and compromised you in front of people?" "He would sing under my window." "I tried to make him stop." "'You have all the women you want", I told him. "Don't come here anymore."" "But he would return in the evening and sing." "Then I'd go out there, so my father wouldn't hear him, to shut him up." ""Leave me in peace," I'd tell him." "But actually, what was your relationship with Rocco?" "I was fond of Rocco then." "Is it true that your father fired a shot at him one night?" "He shot into the air, to frighten him." "He didn't want Rocco to hang around me because people talked." "They even had a quarrel, but Rocco swore to him he'd marry me." "But he married Agrippina Solmo instead." "And your father killed him to take revenge." "It's not true, Your Honour!" "When Assunta told us that he was engaged to Agrippina Solmo, my father was pleased." "He had always thought he wasn't right for me." "He said, "Better an old maid at home than badly married off."" "My father didn't bear Rocco a grudge for what he did." "The morning he was getting married my father congratulated him." "How could he have shot him, if he wished him all the best?" "You're free to go." "The Marquis of Roccaverdina." "I'd rather die than wrong my father!" "Believe me, papa, I've given you nothing to blush about!" "The Marquis of Roccaverdina!" "Your Excellency..." "Marquis, the Court regrets to have inconvenienced you, but for justice's sake it was deemed advisable to call you to testify." "I'll do what I can, willingly." "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" " Say "I swear."" " I swear." "Take a seat, Marquis." "The records show that the deceased, Rocco Criscione, was in your employ for seven years." "Yes, that's true." "He was the farm manager at my estate in Margitello." " What can you tell us about him?" " He was hard-working, honest, trusted." "Rumour has it he was a shameless ladies' man." "I've never cared about the private affairs of my workers until they impinge upon my rights." "It appears that Agrippina Solmo, the widow of the deceased, was in your employ prior to her marriage." "What can you tell us about her?" "She was a devoted servant." "Did Rocco ask you, as is custom, for permission to marry Agrippina Solmo?" "Yes, Your Honour." "And you encouraged that marriage?" "I had no reason to oppose it." "And do you feel that someone else could have had a reason to oppose it?" "What I'm asking is important for justice's sake, Marquis." "Do you think that perhaps someone, other than the accused here present," "Neli Casaccio, could have had a reason, a passion or an interest to oppose or in any way view this marriage in a bad light?" "No, not in my opinion." "I'm innocent, Your Excellency!" "Marquis, the Court thanks you for your cooperation." "Agrippina Solmo." "Help me, Marquis." "I'm innocent!" "Agrippina Solmo!" "Raise your right hand." "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" " Say "I swear."" " I swear." "Sit down." "Agrippina Solmo, was yours a marriage of love?" "Yes." "Defending the family honour is all well and good." "But hell, if we were all to seek justice at gun point..." "I'll play the king." "And foresee twenty years for Neli Casaccio." "Your king can go to hell, my dear doctor, and Neli will get five years reduced for reasons of honour." "If that's the way you look at your work, those poor cadastral maps, my dear surveyor." "Premeditation!" "What extenuating circumstances!" " Have they arrived?" " No, sir, not yet." "I can't wait to hear how many years they give him." "If they convict him, they do it wrongly." " The killer wasn't Neli." " How do you know?" "My opinion will remain my opinion, even if they convict him." "A jury is not infallible." "So you know who killed Rocco Criscione." "No, my dear Marquis." "And even if I did, I'd keep my mouth shut." "Then shut it now and don't pretend to practice law any more." "Excuse me, gentlemen." "We've come here to play." "If someone is more interested in Neli Casaccio, they'd better go and wait in the piazza." " There they are!" " It's them!" "Guilty!" "They convicted him." "Thirty years, Your Lordship!" "It was a surprising trial!" "Your Excellency!" "What do you want?" "Nothing." "If you don't want anything, why have you come?" "Your Excellency forgive me, I just wanted to see you." "Come on." "I don't want us to be seen together." "Why have you come?" "I told you not to show yourself here anymore." "Quiet!" "Don't let anyone hear!" "What did I do, Your Excellency, to be treated like this?" "You have lavished rewards on me, I don't deny that." "But I, too, gave you my youth, my honour, my heart, everything." "I loved you." " You have been my hell." " Why do you say that?" "I thought I had given you a little happiness." "Yes." "Before." "But now I am alone, the town looks at me sideways," "I don't know where to go anymore to hear one kind word." " Are you lacking in something?" " No." " Suffering from hunger?" " No." "Not that." "But if Your Excellency must treat me like a dog with rabies, then I suffer." "Why didn't God let me be hit by the shot that killed poor Rocco?" " Go away!" "I don't want to hear any more talk about Rocco." "Go away." "And don't come back!" "If Your Excellency wishes, you will lose even the memory of me!" "No!" "Go away!" "Go on!" "And forget where I live." " Is that you, Marquis?" " I've come to confess." " At this time?" " Yes." " Are you alone?" " Of course." "Kneel, Marquis." "The Lord be in your heart that you may confess all your sins." "In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." "Remember, you are not speaking to me, a humble priest, but to the very Majesty of God who sees into your heart and judges." "Speak freely." "Don Silvio..." "I killed Rocco Criscione!" "You?" "You!" "Don Silvio, help me!" "Help me!" " But why?" "Why did you do it?" " I don't know!" "It was as if I were mad!" "I went mad with jealousy!" "And Neli Casaccio?" "Oh!" "How could you?" "It was their fault as well!" "They'd sworn an oath." "If I hadn't killed him, they would have betrayed me." "And now I can't see her anymore." "Who can't you see anymore?" "Her, Agrippina Solmo." "Tell me everything." "It's difficult." "I'll have to start long ago." "It's strange how the events that seemed simple and natural then now seem to me like so many stones that, one on top of another, shaped my disgrace." "I met Agrippina for the first time three years ago, when the people from Modica came to Margitello, for the olive harvest." "The women in the barn, the men under the canopy." "Women are to be kept warm." "Children under ten years old don't get paid." "Understood?" "That same evening," "I'm not sure why, I found myself on the outskirts of town, where the olive pickers were camped." "They were dancing." "I didn't even know why I was there." "Or maybe I knew too well." "But I didn't want to admit it to myself." "Enough!" "Tomorrow you have to get up at dawn." "Greetings, Your Excellency." "Leave them be, Rocco." "So go ahead, music!" "Who is that?" " Your Lordship is pushy." " And you're beautiful." "What's your name?" "Agrippina Solmo." " Married?" " I haven't wanted to yet." " Are you here alone?" " No." "You know that someone likes you?" "Rocco was a faithful servant." "The next day he sent to tell me he had assigned Agrippina to an isolated sector of the olive grove." "I went looking for her by the long road through the country." "You saw me and yet you won't look at me or address me." " Bless Your Excellency." " You know who I am?" "The master." "How can you say that if you haven't looked at me yet?" " Your Excellency is the master." " Come closer." "Are you afraid?" "I'm not afraid." "I like you, you know?" "As Your Excellency says..." "We were soon caught up in the same passion, both of us." "And we could no longer be far from one another." "I came to believe that that woman was a blessing," "I was that happy." "We saw each other every day." "Our love grew ever more complete." "She was a marvellous creature, full of energy and submissiveness." "She would have done anything that I'd asked." "I didn't want to lose her." "By then the olive harvest was about over." "Come ahead." "A miracle has happened to that daughter of yours." "There are good miracles and miracles that later turn out to be curses." " This is a good miracle." " What saint made it happen?" "The Marquis, friend." "What honour does the Marquis bestow upon us poor folk?" "He wants Agrippina to help his housekeeper who is old and in poor health." "We are not from this area." "Tomorrow the work will be finished and we'll be going home." "Don't worry about Agrippina, she'll be treated well, she'll have food and clothing." "And you'll be given more money than you've ever seen in your lives." "20 gold pieces." "The Marquis thinks we are too poor to have any honour." "What does honour have to do with it?" "This is a clean deal, friend." "But if you feel up to saying no to the Marquis..." "My daughter is old enough to do what she wants, but if she stays here, she's a stray dog who's left, and we won't regret losing her." " Papa!" "I said:" "You're old enough to choose." "Daughter..." "It'll be your disgrace, girl." "It'll be your disgrace!" " What do you want?" " I'm Agrippina Solmo." "Okay, and what do you want?" "The Marquis sent for me, to serve in the manor house." " Another servant?" "Do you think I'm no longer good for anything?" "I don't want any servants." "Go downstairs." "Another servant..." "Come a little closer, let me see you." "For forty years I've done everything in here, and I nourished the Marquis with milk from my bosom." "He's more than a son to me." "All right, come on." "This way." "Here, this is your room." "I even made your bed." "You can put your things over here." "Though I see you don't have much." "I have strong arms, I've worked all my life." "You only have to give me an order and I'll do it." "My girl, I've always been a servant." "I'll be your servant as well." "It doesn't matter." "As long as he is happy." " Do you like your room?" " Yes, Your Excellency." " Do you regret coming?" " No." "So why don't you raise your head?" "You'll stay here." "You'll always be here." "As you like, Your Excellency." "The news that the Marquis of Roccaverdina had brought a stranger, a servant, into his house provoked comments of every kind." "It seemed that the town's gentry would not forgive me for having a woman who was not of my class." "It offended their vanity, their social code." "They were no better than me." "I knew each of their vices, but they preserved their façade of decorum." "In their eyes, I had lost decorum." "That gossip irritated me, even if on the surface I pretended total indifference." "It was none of their affair how I lived or who I lived with." "But the news spread and ended up forcing the Baroness, my aunt, back to town." "Antonio!" " Antonio..." " Welcome back, Aunt." "You're Cristina, right?" "Pleased to see you, Zosima." " How are you, Antonio?" " Fine, thank you." "And you?" "I've dragged her away from Messina almost by force." "My sister was loath to lose her, but Zosima helped me." "The idea of seeing places from her childhood..." "And her old cousin who has completely forgotten her." "Me, forget?" "How you like to tease, Aunt!" " Will you be staying long, Zosima?" " A few days." "Or a few months." "The air of Rabatto suits her, she becomes more beautiful." " Oh, for my part..." " "For my part, for my part..."" "When will you stop belittling yourself like that?" "We've arrived unexpectedly, I don't even have any tea in the house to offer these dear girls." " Invite us over to your house, nephew." " With pleasure, Aunt." "Shall I wait, Lady Baroness?" "Yes." "Or rather, no." "Take the young lady to see the old castle." " I want to come with you!" " You can't come." "That's it." "Go along, Giuseppe." "Do you remember, Zosima, when you would tumble down these stairs at least once a month?" " Yes." " And mamma Grazia?" " She's fine, you'll see." " Of course, she's elderly, so..." " Naturally." "This house is touching in it's way." "It makes you feel that generations of Roccaverdina have lived here." "Inform mamma Grazia, Agrippina." " Miss, how long it's been!" " Mamma Grazia!" "And you're looking so well!" "I'm getting old, but I always meet young people with pleasure." "There you are, Ladyship!" "Well!" "You can see that the years pass only for the poor!" "You're looking well, mamma Grazia." "You haven't aged either." "Don't you find, Zosima, that so many people's thirst for change is a kind of sacrilege?" "Sure, the colour in here is for a bachelors room:" "Grey." "But a good woman, with taste, could put a bit of cheer into this old house, right, Zosima?" "I don't know, Aunt." "Bring us a little Margitello wine." " Or would you prefer coffee?" " Wine." "But don't you bring it, mamma Grazia." "I saw that you have a new servant." "I'd like to see her." "To feel at ease in a house, you need to know who is in it." "Sit with us, Antonio, and tell us about yourself." "Zosima was moved at the thought of seeing you again." "Oh, Aunt!" "And so?" "Do as the Baroness said, mamma Grazia." "Here, life is rather monotonous, all told." "Outside, the fields, the chronic droughts, the annoyance with farmhands slowly infected with socialism..." "And here, the loneliness and all this gloom!" "Well!" "You need a wife!" "And some children!" "Yes, yes, dear Zosima!" "Children!" "Sons!" "Because he is the direct heir to the name, and if my wretch of a nephew does not think of posterity in time, of the name Roccaverdina..." "But Aunt!" "Some things I believe I can decide on my own!" "After all, I am old enough to judge for myself." "Oh, I think you have already lost your good judgment." "But you'll get it back, taking a wife." "Put it down here." "Turn around a little." "Let me see you." "Go in there, Agrippina." "What, and not serve us?" "Go on." "This is a noble house, and servants should know how to do their duties." "Your nails are dirty, girl." "You don't seem like a suitable servant for this house, my girl." "Quickly, clean it up!" " Leave it, it's nothing." " Your shoes are ruined!" "That's enough!" "Go in there, Agrippina, and send mamma Grazia out." "Go on!" "Go on, I said!" "Don't get agitated, Antonio." "The servant is clumsy, but the glass is no great loss." "When you've taken a wife, these and other things will no longer happen." "Let's go, Zosima." "We will expect you tomorrow." "Zosima will play some music and show you the books that have come out recently." "Goodbye, Marquis of Roccaverdina." " Goodbye, Zosima." " Goodbye, Antonio." "Why are you crying?" "Why are you crying?" "Come." "Come here." "Come on." "Come here." "Sit down." "Sit down." "You're the mistress, here." "You'll always be the mistress!" "Serve Agrippina first." "Agrippina went docilely, though joylessly, along with my efforts to transform her into a lady." "I myself couldn't say how much of my determination was love for her, and how much was spite toward the others, who wanted to regulate my life according to their prejudices." "It didn't matter to me, not at all, what my relatives or the whole town might think." "Inside my house I seemed to be happy with her, to live as if in some marvellous fairy tale." "I didn't want to believe what they were saying." "Is this the manor house of the Roccaverdina or stable of Margitello?" "I know a professor in Rome who cures mental illness." " Aunt, I beg you..." " If I were you, I'd go." "If just to prevent a family council from getting an injunction." "Get out." "Stop, Agrippina." "Go back to your place." "No." "We have to talk of things the servants can't hear." "Get out." "Go out for a moment." "I'll call you back." "What do you have to say to me?" "Sit down." "I want to talk calmly." "I don't have much time to give you." "The Roccaverdina family have always been hotheads and have wasted fortunes on women, but at least they were women worth one's while to know." "You are not crazy, you're stupid." "You are in love with a servant, and if that weren't enough, you make a fool of yourself dressing her up like a lady and even sitting her at your dinner table at the place which should be taken by the Marquise." " That is my affair, Aunt." " No." "It's the whole family's." "If it's still true that we are part of the same family." "And don't compel me to remind you that I could change my will." "You can do as you like." "You must get rid of that woman, immediately!" "Otherwise one day or another you'll wind up marrying her!" "Well, I'll marry her, by God!" "I'll marry her!" "My poor nephew." "You've already become a servant!" "Even I was frightened by the idea that had come from my heart:" "The Marquis of Roccaverdina marry Agrippina, daughter of Salvatore Solmo." "She had, nevertheless, put herself back in her place, patently, almost inviting me to take back my own." "I couldn't get my aunt's words out of my mind." "And the more they tormented me, the more my love for Agrippina prompted me to admit they were right." "To my disgrace, I didn't know how to make a decision." "But what decision could I have made?" "My family had never mixed with the lower classes." "I loved Agrippina, perhaps too much." "I knew if I continued to keep her in the house with me, to feel her close, one day or another I would end up marrying her." "I couldn't, I mustn't marry her." "But I wanted her to be mine." "Mine!" "So one day I called Rocco and I told him," "'You have to marry Agrippina Solmo."" "I counted on his devotion, on his loyalty." "He replied, "As you wish, Excellency."" "'You must be her husband in name only."" "He didn't hesitate." "He replied, "As Your Excellency wishes."" ""Swear it." He swore." " It was a sacrilege!" " He could have refused!" "He didn't." "He immediately said yes." "Immediately." "A sacrilege!" "Then I called her in." "I was sure of her reply." "I had seen her humble before me for such a long time, as obedient as a slave, without ambition." "I told her, 'You must marry Rocco."" "She looked at me, begging, but she also replied," ""As Your Excellency wishes."" "'You'll be his wife in name only, in the eyes of the people." "Swear it!"" "She swore." "Some days later, Agrippina left the manor house." "Bless Your Excellency." "She went, as submissive and humble as she had come." "Without a harsh word against me, the man who was ruining her life." "At that moment I had a premonition of disaster." "I wanted to call her back, to shout at her to return." "Once again my courage failed." "Nothing remained but to bear the consequences of the events that I myself had caused." "I had given Agrippina a dowry of a house in Margitello." "Rocco fixed up the house as if to receive a real bride, he sent the invitations, he wanted music at the banquet, flowers in the church, as if it were a real wedding." ""In the eyes of the people," he said." "And the suspicion, the jealousy, rose in me suddenly." "I'd made a mistake." "Too late I realized I'd made a mistake." "That Rocco would take Agrippina away." "And that she..." "Even she..." "I spied on them." "I hid and spied on them to read what was in their hearts." "I saw them happy." "I looked at Rocco leaning close to her with a mocking smile in his eyes." "I read betrayal in that glance, and in that instant I wanted to cry out." "Rocco had betrayed me!" "And while you were blessing their joined hands," "I felt that Rocco had to die." "#Look out the window, darling...#" "Rocco!" "Rocco!" "I killed him!" "Kneel once more before God." "God forgives only those who repent." "I have repented." "Are you ready to rectify the damage caused to people and to the reputation of others?" " Yes, if it is possible." "It is your fault an innocent man is suffering." " I will help his children!" " That's not enough." " I will donate to the Church!" "To the pious works!" " Not enough!" "What else can I do?" "You must free this innocent and take his place!" " But I'm a Roccaverdina!" " A Roccaverdina..." "There is someone in prison who has a nobler name than yours." " He is called "innocence."" " I can't!" "I can't!" "I feel a profound pity for you." "God is merciful, but also unforgiving in his justice." "You will continue to argue with evil, with remorse, without hope." "The life you took from Rocco and the one you destroyed for Neli and his children, the blood you have spilt will mark you and you'll not have peace in this life nor happiness in the other!" " Enough!" "Don't make me forget who you are and who I am." "I spoke in confession." "You cannot incriminate me." "May God have pity on you." "Remember that." "Out!" "What time is it?" "Zosima, Aunt!" "He's awake!" "You did worry us, my dear nephew!" "How are you feeling?" "What time is it?" "Three o'clock." "I've slept all this time?" "Today is Saturday." "You were unconscious for three days." "The doctor bled you." "He feared a cerebral congestion." "You have been very ill, my son." "When I found you on the ground I was afraid you were dead." "Enough, mamma Grazia." "We needn't worry him." "Instead, go and tell the doctor, to come at once and see him." " Right." "And you, Cristina, come with me." "We should make him some orange juice." "Zosima, don't move from here." "You should thank her, that you're still alive." "She took care of you like an angel." "Zosima..." "Quiet, you shouldn't tire yourself talking." "Zosima, if I ask you a question, will you respond honestly?" "Yes, but you shouldn't tire yourself." "Have I been delirious over the past few days?" " You had a high fever." " Did I talk in my delirium?" "No..." "You promised to tell me the truth." "You uttered some disconnected phrases, you said it was necessary to remove the Crucifix in the entrance, that you didn't want to see it anymore, and mamma Grazia gave it to the church." " Did I say anything else?" " No." "What else should you have said?" "Calm down, Antonio." "You shouldn't get agitated." "Thank you, Zosima." "I'll try to obey you." "You are so good to me." "I've been through a difficult period, but now it's getting better." "I feel weak, but like I was reborn." "If I recover..." "You'll recover." "You'll surely recover, Antonio." "Certainly he'll recover." "But then he'll have to live a calm, regular life." "Help him, Zosima, raise his head." "Is the air bothering you?" "Do you want to go back in?" "Oh, no." "Today there is such a gentle breeze..." "You can feel we're almost into summer." " Do you want me to continue reading?" " No, sit down, Zosima." "I prefer to stay here and look at you." "I never get tired of it." "You're teasing me." "If I say something, that means I believe it." "Besides, you know it's true." "I've been observing you all these days when you've been close to me." "You've taken care of me, nursed me with devotion." "I could almost say with tenderness." "I would have done it for anyone who was in need." "I wonder if you, Zosima, remember when we were children." "What good old days!" "We had something in our hearts then, for each other." "What use is it to speak of such things?" "It's to no purpose." "I bid you listen to me, Zosima, and then respond sincerely." "As you always have." "My life up to now has been a big mistake." "From top to bottom." "Worse than a mistake." "But perhaps it's not too late to fix that, if you would help me to forget." "Forget the other woman, right?" "But how could you forget her?" "She is younger than me, more beautiful." "Zosima, I swear to you it's all over with that woman." "I don't want to see her anymore." "She won't have any further part in my life." "Close to you, I feel a new emotion, of trust, of confidence." "Something that makes me believe I can forget the past and live like the others, in the midst of others." "I need you, Zosima." "Raise your head, I beseech you." "Look at me." "Aunt has seen us talking for such a long time, and when she asks me what we talked about," "I won't know what to say." "Tell her that I asked you to do me the honour of becoming the Marquise of Roccaverdina." "Lady Baroness, they're here!" "They're here!" "Excuse me, Aunt!" " Zosima!" " Dear..." " My son!" "Mamma Grazia..." "You are truly an original in all things, nephew." " Even in not sending news." " There was little to say." " It all went well as planned." " Ah, dear!" "You are the most beautiful Marquise of Roccaverdina!" "Let's go." "You have to tell us everything." "Even the things your husband shouldn't know." "Antonio!" "Brides usually gain weight." "You've gotten thinner." "I'm very well, Aunt." "You shouldn't be ashamed if you're already lucky enough to be..." "You know how impatiently we're waiting for an heir." "No, Aunt, I assure you..." "How do you feel, anyway?" "You're pale!" "I've always been a bit pale." "Maybe it was the sea, it disturbs me." "We took the steamship from Naples to Palermo." "You must tell me all about your trip." "You must have seen such beautiful things!" "I'll tell you everything, once I've rested a little." "What nonsense!" "Your husband shouldn't have made you travel by sea, if he knew..." "He didn't know." "I hadn't told him the sea bothered me." "Antonio is always so attentive." " Didn't you bring me anything from Rome?" " How thoughtless!" "I was forgetting." "I got this for you in Florence, I hope you like it." "And this is for you." "Open it!" "Thank you." "How beautiful!" "But you..." "Oh, Zosima!" "It's fantastic!" "It's gorgeous!" "I got it in Burano, an island in the lagoon, near Venice." " I'm so happy!" " Zosima..." "You're happy, too, aren't you?" "Yes, Aunt." " Marquis..." "Son!" " What is it, mamma Grazia?" "I made this hot drink." "Won't you come in there?" "Now, with your wife in this house, the Lord's blessing has come." " You haven't seen her anymore?" " No, son." " Are you telling the truth, mamma Grazia?" " I swear it." "I haven't seen her for months." "The last time I saw her was in church before you were married." " And what did she say then?" " Nothing." "She said, "If it's true he's getting married, kiss his hands"" ""and tell him I wish him every happiness."" "You really can't get her out of your heart, son?" "Who told you she's still in my heart?" "I don't want to see her anymore." "If she comes back here, for any reason, send her away." " Do you like your room?" " Yes, Your Excellency." " Do you regret coming?" " No." "So why don't you raise your head?" "You'll stay here." "You'll always be here." "As Your Excellency wishes." "#Look out the window, darling...#" " Antonio, do you feel ill?" " No." "Antonio, is there anything I can do for you?" "Yes, Zosima." "Be close to me." "I need you." "I need you more than you can imagine!" "Did you expect this improvement?" "It won't last long." "Perhaps he's wooing his wife to safeguard his aunt's inheritance." "A doctor's cynicism!" "I prefer to think he's trying to solve his romantic problem." " You think so?" " Sure, and I'm happy." "Ah, so am I." "A madman who gets his sanity back is an interesting clinical case." "I'll throw in time and money, but the estate will become the richest on the island!" "I know nothing of storehouses or chemical fertilizers, but if you want to build a road, I'm pleased." "People will get to the fields more easily." "The road will start from the clearing." "It'll come down the hill side, sacrificing a few olive trees, and will pass between the two hills down there." "You see?" "I see." "And I'm really happy." "Let's go down." "I'll have a technician come from the mainland." "The land is good, but it's been abandoned for too long." "The farmers should learn to fertilize, to treat the wheat, and my wealth will be theirs as well." "What is it, Antonio?" "It must be the procession for the water." "No rain in three months, there's drought." " Let's go see." " Let it be." "I want to show you where the storehouse will be." " Water is important, isn't it?" " Of course!" " Then two more prayers will help." "Let's go!" " Okay." "#Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Regina Angelorum.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Rosa mystica.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Turris Davidica.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Turris eburnea.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Domus aurea.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Foederis arca.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #lanua caeli.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Stella matutina.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Salus infirmorum.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Refugium peccatorum.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Consolatrix afflictorum.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Auxilium Christianorum.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Turris eburnea.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Domus aurea.# - #Ora pro nobis!" "#" " #Foederis arca.# - #Ora...#" "Enough, I implore you!" "Enough!" "Ah, yes!" "Enough!" "At least have the courage to choose!" "Once and for all!" "Don't say that!" "Take care, Zosima!" "Don't say it!" "You've chosen." "I see you've already chosen." "It's always been like that." "There was always her!" "Why are you washing in the stream?" "The water is used for drinking." "No one ever comes here downstream." "Your Excellency could find out." "I got your face dirty." "Your Excellency could even walk over my face." "Did you hear that?" "They were shots." "What's wrong, Your Excellency?" "It must have been hunters." "They're shooting." "You hear?" "They're still shooting." "Your Excellency..." "They're coming." "You hear?" "They're coming." "Your Excellency..." "Listen, Your Excellency." "#Look out the window...#" "He's singing... #... darling...#" "He's no longer singing." "Now he's not singing anymore." "Your Excellency!" "What's wrong, Your Excellency?" "Go away!" "Away, damned you!" "I don't want to see you anymore!" "Go!" "He's not singing anymore." "Stop!" "Forgive us, Your Excellency." "Have you seen anyone around here?" "Anyone..." "Did I see anyone?" "Neli Casaccio." "He escaped from prison two days ago." "They spotted him near Riesi heading this way." "Neli..." "Neli Casaccio..." "Be careful, Your Excellency." "He's armed." "And a horse would be handy." "Good evening, Your Excellency." "Have you heard?" "Yes." "She's heard, too." "And she's waiting for him." "But if he comes here..." "You'll kill him?" "Marquis, we never shoot first, but if we have to defend ourselves..." "Good night." "We hope it will be a good night, Your Excellency." "Antonio..." "Don Silvio is here." "Leave us alone." "Neli Casaccio has escaped from prison." "I know." "He's at my house." "What have you told him?" "He needs help." "Here, give him this money." "Don't look at me like that!" "Take this money and give it to him!" "I can't refuse it." "Neli needs it." "No!" "Wait." "That's all the money I have in the house." "I could get more, but there's no time." "He has to flee, save himself." "With this money he can easily find some help, to get to Palermo." "He'll find a ship to America." "I'll send him more money, lots more." "He'll have a better life, better than he could hope for here." "Whatever you do for Neli, you'll never be able to erase the debt you have with him." "I'll have his children join him in America." "I will help them all their life." "They'll all have a better life!" "You've dishonoured an innocent man." "You've made him a desperate man." " You have killed his faith!" " But what can I do, then?" " You know..." " No!" "What's happening down there?" "It's Neli Casaccio!" "They surprised him at his house!" "He wanted to embrace his children." "I urged him not to go." "So, what are you waiting for?" "What are you waiting for?" "!" "This is the last chance God is offering you." "Run, before it's too late!" "Run, for the love of God!" "Hurry up!" "Tell them not to shoot an innocent man." "You're covered, Neli!" "Stop shooting, come out!" " Do you want to get shot?" "!" " Stay against the wall!" " Papa!" "Papa!" " Get back!" "Come here!" "Don't shoot!" "Antonio..." "What's happened to you?" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "Antonio, open up!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "#... out the window...#" "Antonio!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "Come away..." "#Look out the window, darling...#" "No!" "No!" "I'll kill you!" "Traitorous dog!" "I'll kill you!" "#Look out the window...#" "Rocco!" "#... darling...#" " Rocco!" " Can I go in to see him?" " No." "Worry about the Commissioner instead." "Tell him we don't want any grief." "He has little time left now." "The last Roccaverdina." "Cerebral fever." " Come on." " I want to see Zosima!" " Let's go." "Go in." "It's you he's waiting for." "Your Excellency!" "Excellency!" "Look at me, Your Excellency." "Don't you recognize me?" "It's me, Agrippina." "Agrippina." "I'm here, close to you." "Yes." "Yes, I came especially." "I'll never move from here again." "Why did you never say a word?" "Weren't you the master?" "Why did you do it?" "Why?" "I'd never betray you!" "I'd never have betrayed you, never." "Your Excellency..." "Excellency!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" "Antonio!" " THE END "