"THE ELECTIVE AFFINITIES" "Countess Carlotta and Baron Edoardo met again after 20 years." "They had loved one another deeply in their youth... then the circumstances of their lives had parted them." "Now chance brought them together again." "That very day, Edoardo asked her to do... what had been impossible then:" "Marry him." "We are almost of an age, but, as a woman, I am the elder, not you, who are man." "I want to be myself again." "I want to rediscover the pleasure of life... with you." "They had chosen... the church of San Miniato for their wedding." "It was their favorite church, but for opposite reasons." "Carlotta loved the rationality of its geometric design..." "Edoardo, the mysterious, magical feeling... which those geometric lines aroused in him." "They went to live on the estate that Edoardo had inherited." "They would devote themselves to its management." "One year later" "It's morning." "Should we get up or do you want to stay in bed?" "Let us stay in bed." " Carlotta?" " Yes." "I have had something on my mind that I would like to tell you about..." " but I cannot bring myself to do so." " I had noticed." "The messenger is leaving this morning and time is pressing... or I would still hold my peace." "What is it?" "Well." "I would like to ask Ottone to come and stay with us here in the villa for a while." "The architect?" "Why?" "You know little of his present circumstances... forced to do second-rate work that does no justice to his intelligence." "He feels redundant, and it pains him." "Here, on the estate... he could be useful with the alterations." "He is well acquainted with the new principles made available by science." "Listen, Edoardo." "I wish to humor you in everything... but was this the agreement that reunited us?" "To live for one another, to enjoy this happiness on our own... precisely because we came to it so late." "And now..." "I feel we have achieved a perfect balance." "Why do you want to upset it?" "Why consider it definite?" "Why not nurture it and make it grow precisely because it is so wonderful?" "Because I am afraid." "I have a foreboding." "Women!" "First you are all reason, then you dismay us with your presentiments." "Yes, I like you because you are my husband, but you still speak like a lover." "As ever, my dear friend, Edoardo's wishes are my wishes." "Come, then, with all speed!" "Look what I've done." "No." "Wait a minute." "Leave it." "Look." ""This blot, my friend, makes you realize..." ""the haste with which we are writing to you..." ""the impatience with which you are expected."" "Come on." "Come up." "Come see Carlotta." "How long has it been since I saw her?" "How long, Edoardo?" "Wait a minute." "Let's sit down." "How are you?" " You look like you've lost weight." " A little bit." "You stay locked up in an office all the time." "But you look well." " And you've grown whiskers." " See?" "Look, I've even got some gray hair." " You, on the other hand, look younger." " Really?" " Yes." " Everyone tells me that." "I'm happy here." "And you will be, too." "With me, with Carlotta." "Carlotta!" "Carlotta!" "Look, Edoardo." "This is a miracle of engineering." "It 's called a theodolite It's used to measure land." "It's infallible." "I picked three roses." "They are for a triple celebration." "Triple?" "Yes, Edoardo." "Our friend's arrival is cause for celebration." "And have you both forgotten that today is your name day?" "You're both called Ottone." "That's what you were called as children, weren't you?" "We were indeed, as children." "But later on, at school..." "I freely gave up the name to avoid confusion." "You were more partial to the name Edoardo... and on your lips, Carlotta... it sounds musical, indeed." "Madam, gentlemen, if you would please take your places, dinner is served." "Wait." "We shall eat later!" "I don't want Ottone to think our life is all here." "Carlotta, let us take him to the top of the hill." "The view of the estate is better up there." "It will broaden your horizons." "I have still not managed to have the whole property measured." "Come." "Look." "It goes all the way down to there." "We shall make a survey of the area with the theodolite." "A simple job, and amusing." "Will you help me?" ""Those natures which are mutually attracted when they meet..." ""Those natures which are mutually attracted when they meet..." ""immediately determining each other, are said to be affined." ""Alkalis and acids are good examples." ""The most interesting cases are those where four substances..." ""until then paired up two-by-two..." ""once they make contact, abandon their original pairings, creating new ones." ""This justifies the use of the term 'elective affinities."'" "Isn't it time you gave up this bad habit once and for all?" "When I read to someone, isn't it as if I were telling him something myself?" "Something that springs from my mind." "Sure." "Would I take the trouble of speaking... if my forehead had... an open window through which the listener could know... in advance what I wanted to say?" "Forgive me, but I am drawn to the subject." "It isn't easy... so I glanced at the page to find my bearings." "I didn't want to disappoint you." "Come." "Let's go into the lab." "I want to show you something." "Something that will help you understand." "Imagine an "A" joined to a "B."" "Lmagine a "C" joined to a "D."" "Now, look, I bring the two pairs in contact." ""A" will throw itself on "D"... and "C" on "B."" "Let us consider this formula a simile... from which to draw a lesson for ourselves." "You, Carlotta, represent the "A," and I your "B."" "The "C" is Ottone, who, for the moment, is taking me away from you." "My simile is lame for there is no "D."" "That is what I wanted to announce to you tonight." "I have decided to ask Ottilia to come and live with us here." "Ottilia?" "She is my adoptive daughter and has been at boarding school... since we moved here to the country." "Magnificent!" "Ottone, beware of the "D" who is arriving." "And you, Edoardo, you who are my "B"... what will you do if the "C," that is Ottone, is taken from you?" ""B" will go back to his "A," which is you, Carlotta." "You, for you are my alpha and omega." "It was the end of the school year and the examinations had not gone well." "But her young form-master had written to Carlotta:" ""Ottilia is a timid creature who withdraws into her shell..." ""but some fruits do have shells..." ""and sooner or later they burst open to a splendid life." ""Indeed, she speaks as little as possible." "I have never seen her ask for anything." ""On occasion, however, she does try to refuse to do what is asked of her." ""And she does so with an irresistible gesture. "" "Get up, Ottilia." "Why so much humility?" "It's not humility." "I like to remember... when I only came up to your knees and I was already certain of your love." "The most humble of guests, that is myself... welcomes the new arrival." "Because beauty is the most welcome guest... at all times and in all places." "What task will we entrust to our most welcome guest?" "The school principal writes me that you are very precise." "She recognizes at least this skill in you." "We'll entrust the care of the garden to you." "As maybe you already know... my task is to measure the land." "Edoardo helps me with that." "Come visit us on the hill whenever you like." "Yes, but first we need some ideas for your new wardrobe." "You are beautiful as you are, but you'll see what we can do together." "It's very kind of you, Ottilia... to have a slight headache on the left side." "At times, as Carlotta well knows..." " I have one on the right." " Yes." "So you see, we make a perfectly symmetrical figure!" " You must be very tired." " Yes." "Forgive me, I have had a long journey and a lot of excitement." " May I have your permission to retire?" " Go ahead." "You are right, Carlotta." "She is an agreeable creature and says some interesting things." "Interesting?" "Why, she never opened her mouth." "Really?" "How odd." "Let's start measuring." "88 degrees... 20 minutes... 35 seconds." "Come and see." "You were right, Ottone." "It's a lot of fun." " I won." " Give me another try." "Give us the signal." "We have discussed an irrigation project for vegetable gardens." "We have discussed an irrigation project for vegetable gardens." "It is a system with sluices connected to a wind pump... here, on the river, between the lake... and the new road at the bottom of the valley." "See, this is the new road." "Now you see it like this... but in the future we could plant trees and create some shade for the farmers." "Tomorrow morning we'll start." "Oh, I haven't told you about it yet." "Carlotta planned a different route some time ago." " She sketched a map of the area." " I glanced at it." "I am sure the Countess will be... the first to realize that the only possible solution is mine... because it is the simplest." "She is the most intelligent woman..." "I have ever met in my life." "She'll understand." "Look at it yourself." "This is her project." "Certainly it is nicer and shadier." "It runs through the woods." "And she is far too cultivated not to know the difference... between a professional and an amateur." "I want you to admire us." "I chose the fabrics... but Ottilia cut them herself, on her own." " This is the result!" " Very charming." "Ottilia, Ottilia." "In good society it isn't seemly for a young lady to be so obliging to men." "Perhaps you will forgive me when you hear how I acquired the habit." "In history class... we were told about poor King Charles of England." "He was standing before the judges... when the knob of his walking-stick fell." "He was accustomed, in such circumstances to seeing everyone hurry to his aid." "He looked around expecting someone to do him that little service yet again." "But no one moved." "So he bent down and picked up the knob himself." "Don't laugh at me, but since then..." "I cannot stop myself from picking things up if I see them fall." "I'll be more careful from now on." "Ottilia's arrival released all the latent energies... of the inhabitants of the villa." "Carlotta tore up her plans and helped the architect to make his map." "Ottilia undertook to make a copy of the book catalogue... which Edoardo had originally compiled himself... and which was now somewhat the worse for wear." "They had to go to the lake." "Edoardo was waiting for the boat from the shipyard... and the architect wanted to find the most suitable place to build a small wharf." "What's the shortest path to the lake?" "There, on your left." "No, Edoardo, it's on your right." "Left." "Shall we bet?" "No, I don't like to bet." "I believe you, Carlotta." "Let's accept the challenge." "All right, then." "Edoardo and Ottilia against Ottone and me." "Come on, Ottilia, we go this way." "Without running." "I have a request to make of you, Ottilia." "That locket, the glass is too big." "I know it is a portrait of your mother... but I can't bear the thought... that a knock or a fall could hurt you." "Do it for my sake." "Take it off and put it in the most sacred place in your room." "I will entrust it to you." "They have beaten us!" "How long did it take us?" "I don't know what has come over me!" "It's the first time I've forgotten to wind it." "You were faster than us." "Please forgive me, Carlotta." "I don't know what has come over me lately." "I forgot I had a dispatch for you in my pocket." "I forget the most important engagements." "We'll read it later." "Now, let's rest a bit." "The four friends had the impression... or at least the foreboding... that time started to become indifferent." "Oh, no, Edoardo." "It's the Marquis." "He's coming with Laura." " When?" " Tomorrow." "And how long are they staying?" "A day and a night." "I'm going home immediately." "Wait, Carlotta." "We will all go back." "No, they are dear friends... but they are used to living at court, and we lead a simple life here." "We don't have enough servants to wait at table." "Leave the servants to me." "I'll train Giuseppe and Eugenio." "They work with me in the garden." "They are very bright." "That is a good idea." "I'll use their help for the party, too." "Listen, Edoardo... they are not married, the Marquis and Laura... a bad example for a young girl like Ottilia." "I will not put them in the same room." "The women will occupy the right wing, the men the other." "You will have to do without me tomorrow night." "Of course." "I'll tell you what to do." "I'll teach you." " We'll try." " Okay." "I'll be waiting for you." "In our theatres marriage now seems... to be the ultimate aim of a desire... which is protracted from act to act by a series of obstacles." "The moment that aim is achieved, the curtain falls amid the general applause." "In real life things are different." "The acting continues behind the curtain and, were it to rise again... one would see all the unpleasant things that are happening to the married couple." "You see, Ottilia... we all know that what the Marquis is saying is how pleasant it is... to converse around a table among friends... and does certainly not refer to present company." "For my part, I champion the cause of marriage... which is the principle of all civilization." "It tames the roughest man and steels the meekest woman." "True, it does not always bring happiness." "And why?" "Isn't life a succession of happy and unhappy moments?" "That is our human condition." "There is no escaping it by escaping marriage." "True, but the drawback lies in its fixed eternal term... whereas everything in the world is so changeable." "A whimsical friend of mine used to say... that no marriage should last more than five years." "Five?" "Yes, it is enough time to become acquainted, to fall out with one another... to part company and then, perhaps, to be reconciled... in which case the marriage pact would be renewed for another five years." "You are a marvelous couple, you two... the mirror image of one another." "A couple who would definitely renew their pact every five years." "You know, Carlotta, who would not renew it?" "Our friend Luigia." "She has been separated for a month." "This makes me sad." "We think that our faraway friends are happy after the realization of their dreams." "And suddenly, the image is turned upside down." "And again another lonely friend facing the risks of life." "But among the risks there is a good one... that there will be many people ready to take care of her virtues and weaknesses." "When one is married nobody is interested anymore." "I like the man." "I like him." "He is thoroughly qualified... and he has talent." "In more prominent surroundings the echo of his work would..." "Spread, spread, spread!" "A man like that is wasted in the country." " What do you mean?" " I have in mind a suitable position for him." "And by recommending him, I will not only make him happy..." "I will also secure the gratitude of a friend in high places." "I have already thought of the letter." "I'll send it tonight." "Please find me a messenger on horseback... and I will send it off this evening." "I will see to it." "Keep the secret." "We won't tell our friend before a confirmation." "I'm sorry." "My friend... can I help you?" "No, thank you." "You couldn't imagine his expression... when he saw his little knife..." " Giuseppe?" " Yes, Giuseppe... who wanted to defend the roast from that fly." "I only wanted him to put down the tray." "Oh, yes, but poor Giuseppe made a desperate choice." " But the fastest one." " Sure." " Did the Marquis notice it?" " I don't think so." " I'm afraid the Marquise noticed it." " It's not so bad." "Midnight, just the right time." "I must ask a favor of you." "I promised the Marquise that I would go to her... but I fear I may lose my way in all these corridors." "I have not had a moment alone with her all day." "Nothing could be more natural than that we should wish an hour of intimacy." "Would you be my guide?" "Willingly... all the more so as the rooms of the three ladies may be easily confused... and you and I are not very clear-headed tonight." "Be careful you don't make a mistake now." "And if I do?" "Ottilia?" "Is somebody there?" "It is I." "I who?" "I thought you called me." " You startled me." " So I rallied to the rescue." "You broke our agreement." "So much the worse... or so much the better." "You want to scare me again." "When Edoardo awoke the next morning... it seemed to him that the light was charged with omens... that the sun was shining on a misdeed." "That same day the Marquise left the villa with her lover... intending, woman to woman, to help her friend Carlotta... who was her own age." "She was convinced the cause of her distress... was that irritating young thing, Ottilia... who was stealing her husband from her." "She would find a place for the girl at the court in Florence." "Laura, look." "Very fine, isn't it, my new purchase?" "I thought it would be bigger." " But it looks fast." " Let's try it." "Where would be the best place to build the wharf?" " By the plane-trees?" " Isn't it better near the chestnut trees?" "Let us go and see." " Shouldn't we wait for Ottilia?" " No." "She said she had things to do this morning." "What's the matter, Edoardo?" "Nothing, nothing." "Another of my headaches." "I am going home." "No, you two go ahead." "I have finished." "Look." "Shall we compare it with your original?" "Good heavens!" "What on earth?" "This is my handwriting!" "You love me, Ottilia." "You love me." "This boat is very easy to handle." "Carlotta, you'll be able to use it by yourself." "Why by myself?" "Did you speak with the Marquis?" "About what?" "This morning we said goodbye very affectionately." "I was just asking." "I would like to go back to the villa." "We are stuck." " I'm sorry, I was distracted." " It's my fault, too." "I know that the water is very low here." "I had forgotten." "No, we will not make it." "This boat is not so easy to handle after all." "I'm sorry, Carlotta." "This moment will be a milestone in our lives." "We cannot prevent that." "But it lies with us to incur no shame by it." "Ottone, you must accept the proposal of the Marquis." "You must go." "Edoardo was blissfully in love and barely troubled to conceal his happiness." "He had thrown himself body and soul into organizing the party... for Ottilia's' name day and their farewell to Ottone." "Little did he know that Carlotta, searching the strength of her own passion... had come to sense her husband's passion for Ottilia." "She had confided in Ottone." "At the end of the summer Ottilia would also join the Marquise at court." "Have you seen how well Giuseppe dances?" "My gardener, the one who swallowed the fly." "Come and see." "Do you want to go?" " Do you want to go, too, Carlotta?" " No." "Sir, may I introduce my girlfriend?" "May I?" "Orlando!" "Hugo." "Everybody stop!" "Give them the rope!" "Who gave them permission to use the boat?" "I don't know." "He must be taken up to the house immediately." "Come back to the house with us and change into dry clothes." "You must take care of yourself, too." "Let's go." "Ottilia, come." "Carlotta, wait." "The party is over anyway." "It is not over!" "There are still fireworks!" "The show would be out of place now." "Do you agree, Ottilia?" "Stop!" "Wait!" "I will soon give the signal for the fireworks!" "Wait!" "No, I shall not end today like this, in hospital!" "Ottilia was not born to be a sister of charity." "The dead will rise without us, and the living will dry." "Come." "I'll bring you a basket of blackberries tomorrow." "Thank you, but you won't find me tomorrow." "Tomorrow I'll be far away." "You will eat the blackberries." "But her thoughts were not with the man she loved and whom she had lost." "Something inside her... was telling her that that strange night of love with Edoardo... was bearing fruit." "Carlotta knew she was with child." "END OF PART ONE THE ELECTIVE AFFINITIES" "PART TWO" " THE ELECTIVE AFFINITIES" "Yes, Ottilia, our friends have left us." "Ottone has joined the Marquis." "Edoardo has left... on a tour of Europe." "You know why?" "In murky situations whoever sees clearest must act." "This time it is I." "You love Edoardo." "Perhaps because Edoardo loves you." "Ottilia, what will come of this?" "Edoardo and I are no longer young... and we may even become rather ridiculous." "So here we are, alone again, face to face, as we once were." "Too many words." "I will leave as well." "I thought it was necessary, too." "But Edoardo pleaded with me." "He would yield to despair if you didn't continue to live here." "He wants you near me, not among strangers." "He will not attempt to learn anything of our lives... and we shall know nothing of his." "I don't believe you." "Edoardo told me that you are in love with Ottone, too, and wish to be divorced." "I know I shall find Edoardo again." "If you find him you'll have to remind him that I'm expecting a child." "That child was keeping Edoardo away." "Unknown to everyone, Edoardo had, in fact, returned to his regiment." "War had broken out again, assisting him in his intent." "And Edoardo sought action... where there was less likelihood of victory than death." "He's out of danger, but he has been in a coma for more than 10 days." "We found a letter in his pocket with instructions to advise you... and only you." "Thank you." "Let me take charge of him for his convalescence." "I cannot and must not make secrets with you." "You may think me rather ridiculous... but I sought death because life had no meaning for me without Ottilia." "Death spurned me." "I take that as a sign." "Thanks also to you, I have come back to life so that Ottilia may be mine." "Those words have quashed the arguments I wanted to confront you with." "But how can you forget that you and Carlotta... have been blessed with a child?" "Don't you have a duty to live united to provide for his future?" "It is presumptuous of parents... to consider themselves so essential to their children." "I have known youngsters who were deprived of a comfortable, happy youth... by the premature death of their father." "Should we embroider the name in pink or blue?" "Blue." "It's a boy, I know." "But what name?" "Edoardo, in keeping with the family tradition." "Yes." "Edoardo." "When you need either of them, how will you call them?" "Edoardo I?" "Edoardo II?" "That would be all right for a queen, not for me!" "But you are right." "Let us use Edoardo's second name." "What is his second name?" "Ottone!" " Thanks." " You are welcome." "In a few days your joints will stop betraying you." "Better to wait." "I know you love Carlotta." "I know she loves you." "Take her off my hands and bring me Ottilia." "You sound like a knight of the Round Table!" "Why don't you want to be happy?" "I have always told myself that a man must be able to control himself... in adversity and bear pain lightly." "No one surpasses you in the art of relinquishment." "It's a painful art." "I know." "But it is so much a part of me that I could hardly be without it." "When you don't need me anymore, I'll leave Italy." "I'll go to Cairo." "The Marquis has asked me to go with him in his new archaeological expedition." "And I have accepted." "Heavens, what do I see?" "A virgin in here!" "Out!" "Out!" "No, you cannot come in, either." "I don't count, anyway." "But you are weeping?" "Forgive me, I'm embarrassing you." "The tears of a weak man are embarrassing... those of a strong man make me weep with him." "Read this." "He's born." "They have named him Ottone." "She has named him after you." "Do you still plan to go to Africa?" "Everything seemed as peaceful as usual that afternoon... in the garden where the two women lulled the baby to sleep." "But there was a shadow in their eyes, a subterranean uneasiness... the source of which was right there, in that cot." "The child had Ottone's red hair... and Ottilia's mole." "That strange night of love... had brought forth a miracle, or maybe a monster." "It must all be settled by tonight." "I cannot wait until tomorrow." "All right, Edoardo, but let me go, now." " I'm already very nervous." " Wait!" "If all goes well, fire two shots." "Yes, I will be hereabouts." "Oh, sir!" "What a lovely surprise!" "The mistress isn't here, but you come inside and freshen up." "Come in, come in." "No, thank you." "I will look for her." "If you want to look for her, she is strolling on the estate." "Yes, I understand." "Thanks." "No, wait." "Ottone is speaking to Carlotta about them, about us." "My God!" "It's Ottone!" "No, everyone says he looks like me." "Look, he even has my mole." "Yes, it's you, it's your face." "Poor child, born of a double betrayal." "But now you know that even in the arms of another, I belonged to you." "Listen!" "Wait, the second shot." "Ottone is signaling to us." "Come on, Argos!" "In the ravine." "Search in the ravine." "No, it is a hunter." "I must take the baby home." "He must eat at 7:00." "He is looking at us." "Go away, Edoardo." "Go back and wait for Ottone." "We can wait now for Carlotta to decide." "We are both of us in her debt." "If she wishes it, I will be your wife." "If not, I must give you up." "Leave me." "Is anybody home?" "Piero, you go." "Tell him..." "Tell him I am not here." "Go ahead." " Good morning." " Good morning." "I am looking for the Countess." "I am sorry, but she is not here." "Yes, little one, you're hungry." "We're late." "The path is too long, is it?" "We'll take the boat, then." "You like the boat, don't you?" "We'll take a shortcut and you will soon have your supper." "Edoardo!" "Please, breathe, breathe!" "You dare not confess that you are thinking what I am thinking." "It horrifies you to admit it, doesn't it?" "But this tragedy comes as a deliverance." "A deliverance?" "That poor creature is the necessary victim for the good of us all." "It's no good." "You know as well as I do that only Ottilia... can give me back the son I lost today." "And don't you hope to dandle a child on your knee one day?" "A child who takes after you because he is really yours?" "Now is the time for you to speak to Carlotta." "I killed the baby... with my indecision..." "But I know what to do now." "I hurt you all without meaning to." "I realize the fate of several people is in my hands." "I consent to the divorce." "Tell that to Edoardo." "There are things which fate demands at all costs." "You and I did not deserve to be unhappy... but neither did we deserve to be happy together." "Look at him." " What are you doing?" " I'm going, too!" "Keep your voice down!" "I'm going with Miss Ottilia to her school!" "You are lucky." "I've never been away from the village!" "Do you know where we're sleeping tonight?" "At an inn." "Put your shoes on." "Has the wagon arrived yet?" "You're right to take Agostina." "At least she is happy." "I am embracing your knees this time, Ottilia." "I love you." "Don't go." "Dear, dear Carlotta, not even you can make me change my mind." "I'm horrified at myself." "If you really want to help me... and I know you do, there is only one way." "Go back to Edoardo." "Miss Ottilia, the wagon is waiting." "Yes, we are coming." "The moment I hear you have consented to a divorce..." "I shall atone for my blame in that same lake." "Miss Ottilia will be staying here tonight." "I will only be a moment." "I must leave her a note." "Thank you." "Oh, don't mention it, sir!" "We owe so much to you and your family." "Your wound still troubles you?" "No, as long as I do not think about it." "That's right." ""When you read this letter I shall be nearby..." ""but have no fear, you will not see me." ""I know what you have asked of Carlotta." "I am ready to go back to her." ""But you must know this." ""I will never have the strength to do so if I imagine you..." ""buried in that school, dark and dismal as the future that awaits you." ""I would follow you anywhere." ""Stay in our house, Ottilia." "Let the love of Carlotta and myself protect you..." ""and everything will be as it once was." "Edoardo."" "You come with me." "Where do I sleep?" "You'll sleep in the adjoining room." "The Baron is here." "Come along!" "Come!" "Forgive me, Ottilia." "I swear I did not mean for you to find me in your room." "There is a letter for you on the table." "Read it." "Please read it!" "Then decide." "Miss Ottilia, if I knew you would be back..." "I didn't know." "Look here." "We've cleared away everything." "But now I will take care of it." "Ottilia wrote a letter to her three friends." ""I will return to you..." ""if that is the only means to restore the harmony..." ""which was so dear to me when I came to this house a year ago." ""Bear with me, and comfort me with your love." ""But do not press me to speak..." ""and allow me to take my meals alone in my room." ""Agostina will bring them to me."" "That is what Ottilia wrote, and that is what happened." "The four friends found themselves together again." "Their daily life was but and an illusion that everything could still be as it once was." ""We can say that blue always brings something obscure with it." ""This color exerts on the eye a singular action, almost inexpressible." ""This color is like an energy." ""It is a contradiction made up of excitement and quietness." ""Just as we see the sky and the mountains in the distance as blue..."" ""...and the mountains in the distance as blue..." ""even a blue surface seems to move away from us." ""Blue gives the feeling of coldness." ""And it reminds us of shadows." ""On its purest level..." ""yellow contains the essence of clarity..." ""and it owns a certain stimulating quantity of happiness and calm."" "Not eating, miss?" "Not even today?" "Well then, could I..." "I have noticed that little water comes to the irrigation canal." "You will have to explain how it works to the new workers." "Can I really take it to my brothers?" "I am sorry." "Let us go on." "She's dying!" "She's dying!" "Miss Ottilia is dying!" "Run!" "The doctor is in the village today." "Find him!" " Go and call for the Baron!" " But I don't know where he is!" "He went out early this morning." "This is all very strange." "I still believe it is a fainting fit." "Insist." "Ottilia." "What did she eat?" " Come here." " Leave me alone, leave me alone!" "How long?" "Tell me!" " I don't know!" " Longer than a month?" "I don't remember." "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "I did what my mistress told me." "Yes." "I ate everything for her." "I brought some to my brothers." "I was not supposed to tell anybody." "But it was a game, she told me so." "It was only a game." "And I liked that food so much." "Quiet!" "Be quiet!" "She is dead." "Agostina!" "Come on out!" "Don't be scared." "Where are you?" "It's not your fault." "She was ill." "Miss Ottilia was ill." "What are they saying?" "Was?" "What do they mean, "was"?" "Hey!" "You there!" "Wait, children!" "Carlotta gave orders for Ottilia and Edoardo... to be buried side by side." "She wanted the coffins, left open... to pass through that countryside which they had both loved so much." "She ordered that no other person was to be buried in the chapel... in order not to disturb the peace of the two lovers, united at last." "I will have them ready for your arrival, sir." "Has Agostina been found?" "She's hiding somewhere hereabouts." "I think she is afraid I may dismiss her and her family." "She will stay with me." "It is unseemly for a lady to be so obliging to a man." "Well then, Carlotta, am I really like that king... who lost all his riches?" "Leave it with me." "One day you may pass this way to reclaim it."