"M..., a town in northern Italy." "What is it?" "The marquise of o..." "The daughter of...?" "Yes." "Listen to this." "It's all here word for word." "The undersigned declares that, without her knowing how, she became pregnant." "The father of the child she is bearing is asked to report himself." "We have, for family reasons, decided to marry him." "The marquise of o... a lady of unblemished reputation, mother of several well-bred children, daughter of the commandant of the citadel." "About three years ago, she lost her husband, the marquis, whilst on a journey." "After the marquis' death, she left her country estate where she had lived until then, and returned, with her two children, to the commandant's house." "Suddenly the war... the russian troops have broken into the citadel." "They want us to surrender." "I will retort with shot and shell." "I must carry on as if my family were not here." "Lorenzo!" "Madame, may i offer you my arm." "I'm going to call a doctor." "That won't be necessary." "The marquise only needs sleep." "A sleeping potion is the best remedy." "With your permission, marquise, i'll take my leave." "Leopardo!" "Go get some poppy seed tea." "We can expect no mercy." "Form your ranks!" "You have been defeated!" "Your sword." "I was only awaiting your request." "May i see my family?" " Where is Julietta?" " She is... she is out of danger." "I took her to the west wing." "Go back to the castle." "I'll watch over her myself." "My respects, commandant." "I regret that your courage was not helped by better luck." "Give me your word and you may go wherever you like." "You have my word." "I thank you earnestly." "I am greatly indebted to the russians today, especially to that young lieutenant-colonel!" "What happened?" "I was informed of an odious attempt on my daughter." "A troop of soldiers was assaulting her." "The Lt. Colonel, in a brave personal intervention, saved her." "You have honoured our regiment and kept up our traditions." "But who are these rascals who have tarnished the czar's name?" "I'll have them shot." "General, i appeal to your leniency... i am unable to give you their names." "In the feeble glimmer of the castle-yard lamps... it was impossible to discern their faces." "I am surprised." "The castle was already in flames." "One can recognize people even in the darkest night, by their voices." "All right." "In any case, investigate the matter at once." "Excellency, one of the villains wounded by the count has been captured by the commandant's men." "Fetch him!" "Let him name his accomplices!" "They're all to be shot." "Don't worry!" "The battle is over." "And my father?" "He is alive and well, and free, and wants to see you." "Did madame sleep well?" "Poppy seed tea prevents bad dreams." "Julietta, my beloved child!" "I had to surrender, but my honour is safe." "The russians are gentlemen." "On the general's orders, the brutes who attacked you have been shot." "Father, i have only one wish:" "To thank my saviour as soon as possible." "It's too late." "That means the russian troops are leaving the citadel." "So is the count." "But i must see him again and thank him." "I'm sure you'll find some occasion in the future." "A few days later... dead!" "With my own eyes, i saw the count, mortally wounded in the chest, being carried off to a village" "where, at the very moment when his bearers were lifting him from their shoulders, he expired." "The family had to vacate the castle, and took a house in town." "Life went back to normal." "How pretty!" "My lady!" "What's wrong?" "How strange, i who always have been in such good health." "What's wrong with you?" "You look sick." "If a woman were to tell me that she felt as i did just now i should certainly think to myself that she was pregnant." "I don't know what you mean." "I just felt the same way i did when i was expecting my second daughter." "Perhaps you'll give birth to a fantasy!" "The father will be morpheus or one of his pageant of dreams... not long after this..." "The russian Lt. Colonel, the count..." "The count!" "Yes, the count." "Impossible!" "You must be mistaken." "I saw and heard correctly." "He is waiting in the anteroom." "Forgive us." "You cannot understand our astonishment." "We thought you were dead." "I'm alive." "Yes, i'm alive." "How do you feel?" "Very well." "But how did you come back to life?" "You are not telling me the truth." "There is a strange weariness in your face." "Unless i'm mistaken, you are ill." "Well, yes... this "weariness", as you call it, is perhaps the last trace of an indisposition which i suffered a few weeks ago." "I don't think any more will come of it." "Nor do i!" "Will you marry me?" "Did you understand me?" "Will you marry me?" "Please be seated... my son... indeed, we shall think you are a ghost, until you've told us how you rose up out of the grave." "Circumstances force me to be brief." "Seriously wounded in the chest, i was carried to a village." "For several months, i wavered between life and death." "My only thought was for the marquise." "Words cannot describe how pleasure and pain alternated in this image of her." "At last i recovered and returned to the army, but i felt terribly restless." "More than once i reached for a pen to pour my heart out to you and the marquise." "But i was unexpectedly sent to naples with dispatches and cannot be sure that constantinople will not be my next station, or even st." "Petersburg." "And yet, i find it henceforth impossible to live any longer unless my restless soul be given a clear-cut reply." "As i passed through this town, i could not resist taking a few steps towards this end." "I could not help myself." "In short, i very much hope that the marquise's hand will be awarded to me, and i respectfully beg you to grant me instantly a favourable answer." "To be sure, this request, which, undoubtedly, is seriously intended, is most flattering." "After her husband's death, my daughter made up her mind never to marry again." "But, since she recently became so greatly obligated to you, it is not so impossible that this should sway her from her resolution." "Meanwhile, allow her some time to think it over quietly." "Colonel, i assure you, your kind reply is a great encouragement to my hopes." "In other circumstances, it would have made me perfectly content." "I appreciate how boorish it is of me not to settle for it." "But compelling reasons, which i cannot go into, make a definite reply extremely desirable." "The horses taking me to naples are already harnessed." "I implore you, if anything here speaks well on my behalf, do not let me leave without a more favourable answer." "Count, the gratitude my daughter feels for you entitles you to be optimistic," "but not overly so." "She can only, in a matter on which her happiness depends, act with great consideration." "It is imperative that my daughter, before replying, should get to know you better." "I invite you, after your mission is done, to return here, and be our guest for a while." "If the marquise thinks that she could be happy with you, i would then, but only then, be also delighted to hear that she had given you a precise answer." "I foresaw that my impatience would meet with this fate." "Until i know, i will remain utterly miserable." "Seeing the unhappy role i am now forced to play, to be known better to you is all to the good." "As to my reputation, if consideration should be given to something so deceptive, i can vouch for it." "The only dishonourable act i've ever committed has been kept secret, and i'm about to make amends for it." "In short, i am a man of honour." "Please take my word for it." "I quite agree with you." "I have never met a young man who, in so short a time, has revealed so many superior traits of character." "It will take but a short period of reflection to lift the veil of indecision." "Until i have consulted with my family and with yours, count, no other reply is possible." "My parents are dead, i am my own master." "I am a man of means." "A period of reflection is necessary." "Until your return, please don't insist further." "I did everything i could to get out of this mission." "To no avail." "And now i am in the throes of despair." "If there is the slightest chance that i may be granted my wish, i'll put off my departure for a day, or for longer." "Go along, count." "Leave for naples." "When you return, give us the pleasure of your company, and then we'll see." "I came here with high hopes." "They were premature." "You rightly wish to know me better." "I'll return my dispatches to H.Q." "And accept your kind invitation." "It would grieve me if the passionate feelings you seem to have for my daughter were to lead you into serious trouble." "But you know what is best for you." "Send your dispatches back and move into your room." "Well?" "He can't send his dispatches back, renounce taking them to naples, simply because he was unable, during a 5 minute conversation, to obtain from a lady he hardly knows a consent to his proposal." "Such reckless behaviour will be punished with imprisonment." "And he'll be dismissed, too." "But there is no danger of that." "It's just a bluff." "He will think twice before returning the dispatches." "I'm afraid he will return them." "His stubborn, single-minded nature seems quite capable of it." "Go, dissuade him from this unfortunate action." "My interference might have the opposite effect, and give him more faith in his plan." "I think so too." "But the dispatches will surely be sent back, if we do nothing." "He'd rather bring disaster on himself than admit he was pretending." "Extraordinary behaviour!" "He seems to storm ladies' hearts as if they were fortresses." "Look!" "He's having his luggage unloaded." "We must go see him." "Come with me!" "You are expediting your business on an inappropriate table." "Do you want your room?" "Thank you, but i'm already done." "What time is it?" "Have a good journey." "Count, unless you have very weighty reasons... most compelling ones!" "Drive on!" "Would someone show me to my room?" "It would be an honour for me." "Have the luggage taken up." "And you, what do you make of the whole thing?" "If father had prevailed on him to go to naples, all would have been well." "To naples!" "Should i have called a priest?" "Or had him arrested and sent under guard to naples?" "No, but a real effort to remonstrate with him would have had an effect." "Count, forgive me if i come back to this." "I hold your loyalty and courage in great esteem." "I know that on the night your men captured the fort you risked your life for my daughter." "I thus would deplore it if in following your impetuous inclination..." ""inclination!"" "...you had jeopardized a promising future." "It is not an "inclination"." "You know, during my illness, the marquise was sitting at my bedside." "In my delirium, i kept confusing her with the sight of a swan." "A swan?" "A swan i'd seen as a boy on my uncle's estate." "One recollection especially moved me." "This swan, i once... i'm terribly in love with you." "Allow me to withdraw." "How should one react?" "Let matters take their course." "He's counting on the influence of his relatives." "Or he'll be ignominiously dismissed." "What do you think of him?" "Can you come up with something that will avert a catastrophe?" "Mother dear, that is not possible!" "I am sorry that my gratitude be put to such a hard test." "But i had made up my mind not to remarry." "I can't risk my happiness a second time." "Not without giving it much thought." "If such is your decision, it would be of help to him to know it." "He needs to be given a definite answer." "How do you like... his appearance?" "I cannot tell... whether i like him or not." "How do you feel?" "Supposing he returns from naples and nothing we learn about him in the meantime contradicts the general impression you have on him now, what would you answer if he renewed his offer on his return?" "In that case i might... since his desire for me is so strong, if he wished it," "i would be ready to marry him for the sake of what i owe him." "Dear julietta!" "I had always wished you to remarry." "If julietta is considering giving her hand some day to the count, then we must at once say something to him, to avert the consequences of his folly." "Perhaps he might be told something to the effect that until his return from naples, you won't enter into any other engagement." "I can promise him that." "But i fear it will not reassure him, and will get us all embroiled." "Let me worry about that!" "Lorenzo, what do you think?" "With this harmless assurance, i'll get the count out of the house." "Then do it!" "Do it right now!" "Here i am, surrendering to this russian a second time!" "How can we tell the count right away?" "Leave that to me." "Count!" "Don't you know?" "I know what i need to know." "Can you get a coach for me?" "I fear that your impetuous hopes have led you... not at all, you've agreed to nothing." "If the reports you get about me contradict the feeling that moved you to call me back into this room." "Take my coach." "A footman will get you some fresh horses." "I hope to overtake my dispatches at my H.Q." "From there, i'll take the shortest route to naples." "In naples, i'll do my best to get out of having to go to constantinople." "If there are no unforeseeable delays, i will be back in about four to six weeks." "Well, julietta, i feel a great deal easier." "Even though my fondest wish was to marry you before i left." "Marry!" "Yes, to marry!" "Have you lost your senses?" "Some day you'll understand." "I beg you to forget what i just said." "The coach is ready." "Several weeks went by." "And, from day to day... yes, it really is as if... but, mother, it couldn't be!" "It's impossible!" "What other explanation?" "I don't know." "Something is definitely wrong." "I've read that women could show symptoms of pregnancy without really being pregnant." "Your health worries me." "If you are ill, you should see a doctor." "Your diagnosis was accurate." "What do you mean?" "You're in perfect health." "You don't need a physician." "Please leave, doctor." "I'm in no mood for jokes." "I wish you'd always been as little inclined to joking." "I will report these insults to my father." "Madame, i am not joking." "I could... swear to this opinion in a court of law!" "But how is it possible, doctor?" "I hardly feel there's a need to explain its working principles to you!" "What did the doctor say?" "Why are you so upset?" "What did he tell you?" "He said i'm in perfect health and expecting a child." "He's shameless." "Frivolous quack!" "Your father must know of this insult." "It was not an insult." "He was quite earnest." "He is prepared to repeat his mad opinion in front of my father." "Do you think it is possible?" "I'd sooner believe that graves could be fertile, or that the dead could give birth!" "My strange child, what is tormenting you?" "If your conscience is clear, the opinion of a whole panel of doctors should not bother you." "He is either mistaken or malicious, what do you care?" "My god!" "How can i feel calm?" "Don't my own innermost feelings argue against me?" "If i heard another woman had these symptoms, would i not myself feel that she was pregnant?" "Malice!" "Mistake!" "Why would a man, hitherto so worthy of esteem, deliberately want to humiliate me?" "I have never offended him, i who received him with confidence, anticipating gratitude." "As his first words showed, he came with a sincere desire to help me, not to cause me greater pain." "Since a choice has to be made, if i conclude he made a mistake, is it possible that a doctor, even a mediocre one, could err in such a matter?" "And yet it has to be one or the other." "My dear mother," "it must be." "But my case is so strange, you must allow me to have my doubts." "I swear, for some assurance is needed, that i am as innocent as my own children." "Your own conscience, my respected mother, can be no clearer." "Nevertheless, call a midwife so i may discover what it is, and, whatever it may be, find some peace of mind." "A clear conscience and a midwife!" "A midwife, dear mother!" "And instantly, or i'll go mad!" "It will be a pleasure." "But please don't give birth in my house." "If a life without blemish, a life that followed your example entitles me to your esteem, if you still have maternal feelings in your heart, for as long as my guilt is unproven, don't forsake me at this terrible hour." "What is disturbing you?" "Just the doctor's diagnosis?" "Just your innermost feelings?" "Nothing else, mother." "Nothing, julietta?" "Think a moment." "A misstep, however painful it may be to me, i'd have to forgive in the end." "But if, to avoid your mother's anger, you have invented a fairy tale of unnatural calamities," "piling one blasphemous oath on another, to take advantage of my trust in you, this would be shameful!" "And i could never love you again." "May the kingdom of heaven lie as open to me some day, as my heart is open to you now." "I have concealed nothing from you, my mother." "Heavens!" "My child!" "How sorry i am for you!" "What on earth are you afraid of?" "You look quite ill." "I am in perfect health, and nothing is wrong with me, except this strange and inexplicable condition." ""Condition?" What "condition"?" "If you're so sure of your memory, isn't it madness to be so afraid?" "Can't these interior feelings be deceiving you?" "No, i haven't deceived myself." "If you'll just call the midwife, you'll see this dreadful, destructive thing is true." "Come, my darling, and lie down." "My dear, respected mother!" "I have not gone out of my mind." "The doctor told me i was pregnant." "Call the midwife." "As soon as she says it isn't so, i'll feel easy again." "Very well, i'll get her right away." "Since you're determined to make a fool of yourself, she'll say you're dreaming and not right in the head." "Young blood, and the cunning of the world!" "I've known such cases." "No need to look further." "I can already feel the child moving." "Every young widow in your predicament claims she lived on a desert island." " Shut up!" " Don't worry... your prince charming will be found." "I forbid you... will you please tell the truth." "Say who the father is!" "I may go mad." "Go on, then!" "You are contemptible." "Curse the day i gave birth to you." "I'd like to know, how nature works." "Is it possible to conceive without knowing of it?" "That could not be so in your case." "No." "I mean as a general rule." "Does this phenomenon exist in nature?" "Apart from the virgin mary, it has happened to no other woman on earth." "And in one's sleep?" "Nonsense!" "How can you believe that?" "I don't." "I don't know what to believe." "Don't leave me." "I don't understand it at all... let's not make things worse than they are." "You weep when you should rejoice." "One should cry when someone dies." "Here someone is about to be born, a child, a beautiful child, a handsome boy or a little sister." "You must learn to avoid evil tongues, the cackling of the world, that's all." "I once helped a young widow, a similar case." "She never showed all her children at the same time." "People said she had three." "When in fact she had four... or five!" "I feel better." "Please leave now." "The colonel wishes that, under the circumstances, the marquise will leave his house." "He sends her herewith all the papers concerning her property, and hopes that god will spare him the misery of seeing her again." "Your mother." "Dictated." "He dictated it... father!" "Open up." "I beg you." "By all the saints, i am innocent." "He does not want to see you." "My dear brother." "My beloved father!" "Get out of here!" "Father!" "Listen to me!" "Lord of my life!" "I deeply regret to have frightened you." "Go and claim the children." "She must leave them with us." "We have no right to do that." "Please avoid a violent scene in our house." "Go get them!" "My sister, on father's orders, i want the children." "These children?" "Tell your cruel father he can put a bullet through me before he takes my children." "Having learned how strong she was through this courageous effort, she was able to raise herself out of the deep abyss into which fate had cast her." "Her reason had been strong enough not to crack under the strain of her uncanny situation, and now bowed to the holy and inscrutable laws of the universe." "I know it is impossible to persuade my family of my innocence." "I know that i must resign myself to it, if i don't want to be destroyed." "I have decided to withdraw into myself entirely, to concentrate all my energies on the education of my two children." "As for god's great gift of a third child, i will lavish it with all my motherly love." "One thought i cannot endure, what if this young being conceived in the purest innocence should bear a stigma in society?" "I am mad!" "How can i tie myself to a man who took advantage of me?" "He is the scum of the earth." "Wherever i imagine he is, he could only have sprung from the blackest and filthiest mire where he belongs." "The... undersigned... declares... count!" "What!" "Back already?" "As i hoped for, i was able to avoid going on to constantinople." "How is your wife, and the marquise?" "Forgive me." "Urgent business compels me to leave." "My son will keep you company." "I would like to see the marquise." "Do you know what occurred in this house during your absence?" "The marquise, my sister, is expecting a child." "She swears that since the death of her husband no man has touched her." "She has no idea how she became pregnant." "She insists on that!" "Since she has dishonoured our family, my father has forbidden her to enter this house." "He refuses to see her." "She is at her country house." "Why were obstacles put in my way?" "Had we been married, we should have been spared all this shame and suffering." "Are you mad enough to still want to marry the wretch?" "She's far more worthy than those who condemn her." "I have absolute confidence in her innocence." "I'm going to see her to renew my proposal." "Please announce me to the marquise." "The marquise is home to no one." "Does this ban for strangers also apply to a friend of the house?" "I know of no exception." " You're not the count?" " No." "In that case i'll stay at the inn and announce myself by letter." "The count!" "Where have you come from?" "Is it possible?" "From your parents' house." "I came through a back gate." "I felt sure you would forgive me." "Were you not told, at my father's house?" "Everything, my beloved." "But i'm sure of your innocence." "What!" "And you still came?" "In spite of everyone, in spite of your family, in spite even of your lovely self." "Leave!" "I'm as sure, julietta, as if i was all-knowing, and my soul dwelled in your bosom." "Leave me!" "I'm here to repeat my proposal." "I'll be the happiest of men if you will grant me your hand." "Leave at once." "I command you to leave." "Darling, my beloved... did you hear me?" "Only let me whisper one secret to you...!" "I won't hear a word." "Good evening." "Was your mission successful?" "No." "I've decided to write to her." "I'll soon have the whole thing cleared up." "Count!" "I regret to see that your passion has robbed you of your senses." "You should know that the marquise is about to choose someone else." "The undersigned declares that, without her knowing how, she became pregnant." "The father of the child... do you think the man will appear?" "Without a doubt." "Now i know what i have to do." "I hope to see you again soon." "I would be delighted." "From the colonel." "What on earth do you make of it?" "She is innocent!" "What do you mean, innocent?" "She did it in her sleep." "In her sleep!" "And such a terrible thing could... idiot!" "I no longer have a daughter." "When the next issue appeared..." ""if the marquise of o" ""will be, on the 3rd, at 11 a.m.," ""in the house of her father, the governor," ""the man she is looking for will appear" ""to throw himself at her feet"." "Tell me, in god's name, what do you make of it?" "The vile creature!" "The cunning hypocrite!" "Ten times the shamelessness of a bitch, added to ten times the slyness of a fox, would not match hers!" "Such an innocent face!" "The eyes of a cherub!" "But if it's a trick, what can she hope to gain by it?" "Gain by it?" "She wants to carry her pretence to the end." "She already knows by heart the fable that she and "he"... will recite to us on the 3rd at 11 a.m." ""Dear child", I am supposed to say, "I didn't know..."" ""you have my blessing." "Come back to us"." "There'll be a bullet for the man who comes through my door on the 3rd." "So i had better have my servants throw him out." "If i had to choose between these two incredibilities, i'd rather believe in some mysterious action of fate than in the infamy of a daughter, who up till now has been so perfect." "Pray, be quiet." "I can't stand to hear one more word of it." "A few days later, the governor received a letter from the marquise." ""Respected father," ""as you have closed your door to me," ""i humbly request" ""that the man who presents himself on the 3rd" ""be sent on" ""to my house"." "Actually, she's not asking to be forgiven!" "So if the whole thing is a deception, what would be her motives?" "Lorenzo?" "I have an idea." "Will you allow me to go to the countryside for a few days?" "I'll find out if the man who answered her anonymously in the paper, is in fact known to her." "I'll put her in a situation where she'll betray herself." "I want nothing to do with her." "I forbid you to communicate" "in any way with her." "Leopardo, you'll harness the horses tomorrow morning and take me to the countryside." "No one must know of this trip." "Not even the governor." "Yes, madame." "For your silence." "The marquise's orders are that no one may enter." "I know her orders." "Go tell the marquise that the colonel's wife is here." "It is a waste of time, madame." "The marquise wishes to speak to no one in the whole world." "I am her mother." "Hurry!" "Go!" "My daughter!" "Dearest mother." "To what great fortune do i owe the priceless joy of your visit?" "I am here because of the brutal way we closed our door to you." "To beg forgiveness." "Forgiveness?" "Yes, forgiveness." "When we saw in the newspaper that your announcement had been answered, your father and i were convinced of your innocence." "But i must also tell you that the man in question, much to our great and pleasant surprise, came in person yesterday to our house." "Who appeared?" "Which man came "in person"?" "The very author of the reply." "The one to who your plea was addressed." "But who is he?" "Who is he?" "I leave it up to you to guess." "Imagine that yesterday, as we were having tea, reading the answer in the paper, a man we all know very well rushed into the room in a wild despair, threw himself at your father's feet, then at mine." "Knowing not what to make of it, we urged him to speak." "He told us his conscience gave him no rest, that he was the scoundrel who took advantage of the marquise." "He must know how his crime was judged and if vengeance on him was demanded, he had come to surrender himself." "Who was it?" "Who?" "Who?" "Just tell me who it was?" "As i told you, a young man, well-mannered, someone whom we would never have thought capable of such a despicable action." "Don't be alarmed, my daughter, if i tell you he is of low birth" "and has none of the qualifications to be your husband." "Just the same, dear mother." "He can't be entirely unworthy since he threw himself at your feet before mine." "But who is he?" "Won't you tell me?" "Well...!" "It was leopardo, our footman." "As you may have noticed, i brought him with me to introduce to you as your bridegroom." "What are you afraid of?" "Have you any reason to doubt he is the one?" "How, where, when?" "He will reveal that only to you." "Shame and love, he said, made it impossible to talk to anyone else but you." "If you will, let's go to the anteroom, where, with a beating heart, he awaits you." "See if his dark secret can be pried from him." "Oh, god!" "The night the garrison was taken, he was there, when i was given a sleeping-draught." "He was staring at me." "That's who it was!" "Why didn't i think of it myself?" "It had to be him!" "That villain!" "That foul creature!" "I beg you, don't let him in!" "Oh, my daughter!" "Oh my wonderful daughter!" "And oh your contemptible mother!" "What's the matter, mother?" "I want you to know, you, who are purer than the angels, that nothing of what i told you is true." "My soul is so corrupt that such innocence as radiates from your person, did not seem possible." "I needed to play this shameful trick in order to convince myself." "Dearest mother!" "No, i will not budge until you say that you forgive my vicious behaviour." "Oh you saintly person." "I, forgive you?" "Mother, stand up." "I beg you." "First tell me if you can ever love me and respect me as you used to." "Blessed mother, the love i feel for you never left my heart." "How could anyone believe me, when the circumstances were so strange?" "I am so happy that you are convinced of my innocence now." "From now on... i'll wait on your hand and foot, my dearest one." "You must have the child in our house." "For as long as i live, i'll never abandon you again." "I defy the whole world, your shame will become my honour," "if you will think well of me again." "He's handsome!" " Pity it wasn't he!" " Oh, mother." "Maybe it was he!" "I'm joking." "Do not make jokes!" "Who knows who'll finally show up at our house on the 3rd at 11." "A real st." "Thomas." "Such a doubting thomas!" "It took me a whole hour to convince him." "Now he is crying." "Who has most reason to cry?" "You mean father?" "Like a baby." "Had the tears not been running down my own cheeks... i would have laughed, as soon as i left the room." "All because of me?" "And i sit here?" "Don't budge." "Why did he dictate that letter tome?" "If he doesn't come here and fetch you, he'll never see me again!" "Mother dear!" "I won't relent." "Why did he fire that pistol?" " I implore you..." " no you won't." "If he doesn't come by this evening, i'll leave with you tomorrow." "That is cruel and unfair!" "Be quiet." "Here he is now." "Can that be someone at the door... moaning...?" "Of course." "He wants us to let him in." "Let me go!" "Julietta, if you love me, stay where you are." "My dear father!" "Don't budge, do you hear!" "He owes you an apology." "Why must he be so violent?" "And why so stubborn?" "I love him." "But i love you, too." "I honour him." "But you too." "And if i had to choose, i'd choose you." "Oh my god!" "He can't even speak!" "Father!" "Calm yourself." "Please." "Sit down." "It serves him right!" "Now he'll be reasonable." "Leopardo, go to the kitchen." "Have a light meal prepared for the colonel." "What a face!" "If the person... is at all passable," "we all agree, even your brother... that you should marry him." "Everything possible must be done to ensure your happiness." "But if his extraction is so lowly that even with our financial help his position remains substantially beneath yours, we're against the marriage." "You can stay with us and we'll adopt the child." "In any case, i want to stick to my promise so the child, whatever cost to me, will have a father." "Providing he is not a real scoundrel!" "Allow me to withdraw." "Perhaps things are not so bad." "A bumpkin would hardly have answered her in the newspaper." "But it's very much in the style of our gallant count!" "Shut up!" "The count is the one person beyond suspicion." "How dare you?" "If you feel so sure." "It's not a question of "feeling", but of logical deduction." "One cannot rescue a woman and take advantage of her at the same time." "You can't fight a fire all night long and also prowl around my bed!" "Whoever shows up tomorrow at 11, it cannot be the count!" "The next day was the dreaded date of the 3rd... it would be more suitable" "if we left you alone." "No, it would be better to wait for him all together." "I have no secrets to share with this person." "I yield to your desire, dear julietta, if you want me to stay with you." "But your father's presence, or your brother's would not be right." "The count!" "Bolt the door." "We are not at home to him!" "Please, julietta!" "Whom were we waiting for?" "Surely not him!" "Then whom else?" "We are such idiots!" "Who else but him?" "I'm going out of my mind, mother!" "Unhappy creature!" "What more do you want?" "Has anything happened that you didn't expect?" "Dear, kind, gracious lady!" "Get up, count, please get up!" "Make her feel better." "We'll all be reconciled." "All will be forgiven and forgotten." "Go away!" "Go away, away!" "I was ready for some villain of a fellow, but not the... not the devil!" "Call the colonel!" "This man, father, i cannot marry him." "What's happened?" "Don't ask questions." "This young man is sincerely sorry for what he has done." "Give him your blessing and all will end well." "May god's curse avoid his head!" "When are you getting married?" "Tomorrow, tomorrow, or today if you want." "The count, who has shown such eagerness to redeem his offence will prefer the earliest possible date." "Then i shall have the pleasure of seeing you tomorrow at 11 a.m. In st." "Augustine's church." "Let's see julietta." "Why is the count worse than anyone else?" "Julietta... explain yourself." "I want to be alone." "Julietta!" "Have you forgotten?" "You're going to be a mother." "I have to think of myself more than the child." "By all the angels in heaven, i won't marry him." "You must keep your word." "I'll offer him a contract:" "He'll renounce all his rights as a husband, but will fulfil all his duties." "Then will you consent?" "I will be tomorrow at 11, in st." "Augustine's church." "Before almighty god, i take thee" "as my wedded wife." "Before almighty god, i take thee as my husband." "Count, i expect to see you from time at my daughter's house." "Thank you." "The count took an apartment in town where he stayed for several months, without ever setting foot in the governor's mansion." "But after their son's baptism, he was invited there regularly." "Good night." "Countess!" "May i have a word with you?" "Don't be afraid." "I won't beg for forgiveness or pester you." "But you should know that your contempt is the most terrible punishment, worse than death." "I love you and will endure anything for as long as you want." "I'm going now." "Good night!" "I did not tell you everything about that swan." "The swan, whose image, as i laid feverish, i confused with your image." "Its name was thinka." "One day, as a child, i threw mud at it." "It dived and came up all white again, washed by the waters." "In my fever i saw you." "You were swimming on waves of fire and i shouted thinka!" "I couldn't get your attention." "You were taking such pleasure in swimming around, craning your neck." "Thinka!" "Julietta!" "Any villain of a fellow, to comply with the fragile laws of this world, you were ready to accept." "Why then did you flee from me as if from the devil?" "I would never have thought you were a devil if when i first saw you you had not seemed like an angel!" "A long line of young russians followed upon the first born."