"The glory of the world is its scattered beauty." "Its tragedy;" "The beauty that has been lost." "In that empty space, there might've been a book with the greatest love letters even written." "Letters of unsurpassed charm and passion written in the last century... by this man, the great poet Jeffrey Ashton, to the beautiful Juliana Bordereau." "Over 30 years ago I, Lewis Venable, then an ambitious young publisher read those letters." "For a few amazing, tormented hours I held them in my hand." "Literary treasures that publishers from Europe and America had sought long and desperately." "It all began with a brief, tantalizing note from a derelict artist, Charles Russell, who had vanished years before in the continent." "Venice." "I remember the long journey from New York." "I remember standing there on the footway of the canal waiting for Charles." "And as I waited, phrases from his letter to me echoed through my mind." "Juliana Bordereau was still alive." "Surely she has his letters." "What a success for you if you got them." "The publishing triumph of the decade." "What would you like to do about it?" " Welcome to Venice, Lewis." " How have you been, Charles?" " Have you made the arrangements?" " Yes, I have." "Alright." " There it is, Lewis." " Juliana." "In that house, still alive." "The immortal Juliana." "A hundred and five." "That is pretty close to immortal, isn't it?" "That's where they met." "He came to this house as a guest, to have Martin Bordereau paint his portrait, and met Juliana." "The exquisite Juliana." "This is where it began." "The same Lewis Venable." "Always at home with the past." "Who would ever have thought that she'd still be here," "In Venice... that house." "Have you seen her?" "No, I doubt if anyone ever sees her." "Except her niece, miss Tina Bordereau, and her servants." "They're expecting me, there'll be no slip-ups?" "No, I left a deposit of 50 franks with the housekeeper." "I think they needed the money badly." "Tomorrow they're expecting you." "I followed your instructions, said you were..." "William Burton, a young writer from America." "Well, if everything is as you say it is..." " It is." " You'll be well rewarded." " How well?" " I'll send you 500 dollars tomorrow." "If you get the letters, Lewis, and publish them," " You'll make a great deal of money." " I'm not concerned about that, Charles." "Whatever money may come of this will go to those who are entitled to it." "To Juliana, perhaps." "Did you know that Jeffrey Ashton was last seen in that house?" "One of these days she'll catch you in here and that'll be the end of you." "Why don't you see who it is, Amelia?" "I think you should pull the drapes, the sun's beginning to come into the room." "Amelia, did you allow the cats into the house?" "I thought I heard..." "No, miss Tina, I didn't hear anything." "Si, signore?" "Good day, signorina." "I..." "I am William Burton from America." "Would you be good enough to tell your lady that I..." "Miss July, please, come." " Miss Bordereau." " How do you do, Mr. Burton?" " I've... been expected?" " Yes, you've been expected." "This, um, seems the perfect place to write." "If I'm... not tempted from work, I should finish my novel by the end of the summer." "I'll tell my aunt you've arrived." "You and your aunt live here by yourselves?" "Yes." "Isn't it a bit lonely here for you?" "It's only being with people that makes one lonely." "Miss Bordereau..." "I shouldn't like to come here against your will." "It's her will that counts." "Poor kitties, you have to stay here all this time behind that curtain." "Please, kitty, please, you're gonna get all of us in trouble." "Please!" "She hates them." "She told me if she ever finds them in..." "In that case, we better get them out of here." "My poor kitties." "I won't let her hurt you." "She, um, she wouldn't really hurt them, would she?" "You don't know miss Tina." "The things she says." " You mustn't tell her they were in here." " I won't." "I promise you I won't." "Don't be so frightened." "You don't know her." "You don't know this house." "So far as I can see, this is the loveliest house in all of Venice." "Not only that, you and I should be friends." "Oh yes, signore." "Yes." "Amelia!" "What are you talking about?" "Making more trouble?" "I told you never to speak with strangers." "I'm just waiting for miss Bordereau." "And Jeffrey Ashton once lived in this cold, forbidding house." "I felt the past closing around me like the fog." "Filling me with a nameless fear." "I had a sudden impulse to turn and leave but then I remembered the letters." "The door to the present shut behind me." " Mr. Burton, my aunt will see you." " Thank you." "My aunt is very, very old." "Try not to stay too long." "Mr. Burton is here." "This was the divine Juliana of Ashton's poem." "An ancient hooded skull..." "Old... old beyond my wildest expectations." " I..." " Sit down." "Tina doesn't like strangers." "Strangers sometimes prowl." " I assure you ma'am..." " I'd hear you." "I never sleep." "I hear every sound in this house." "Tina thinks I should send you away." "Aunt Juliana, I warned y..." " Be quiet!" " We don't want anyone in this house..." "It's not 'wanting', it's 'needing'." "And you're quite unpleasant to this young man." "You think that's right?" "When he leaves, he should remember us pleasantly." "Be nice, Tina." "Be nice." "Mr. Burton, if you're about to live here it will cost you a great deal of money." " I thought the arrangements had been ma..." " Things have changed." " 200 franks a month for a furnished..." " Nothing is sure." " And if you want to live here..." " I do." "I want a thousand franks a month." " I'll pay it." " I want it in gold." "Today." "Three months in advance, today." " Go now." " Very well." "Bye, miss Bordereau." "Your rooms are across the Galleria." "I'll show them to you now." "There are three rooms here that connect with each other." "You have your own entrance from the garden." "Your mail will be brought to you." "You're determined to seal me off from the rest of the house." "Why?" "The arrangement were made for this room, Mr. Burton." "Since you, uh, feel so strongly about me.." "Perhaps it'd be better..." "My aunt insists, we've very little choice in the matter." "We need the money." "And you're willing to pay an extravagant price for this." "Why, Mr. Burton?" "I'll get the keys, Pietro." "Fantastic." "To leave the most beautiful Italian Venice for this." " Goodbye, Father." " Goodbye, Tina." " Good afternoon." " Good afternoon, Mr. Burton." "I'd hoped to be here earlier, but at the time I'd been at the bank and bought some things..." " I'm not coming at a bad time?" " Doesn't matter." "In that event, Pietro can have the keys." "Amelia, will you show this man where Mr. Burton's rooms are." "Come in, please." "I thought, if you didn't mind, Pietro could take care of the garden." " He'll, uh, he will have plenty of time." " I wrote down an agreement." "We can both sign if it's satisfactory to you." " We, you mean your aunt?" " I mean I'll sign it for her." "Thank you." "Was that a parish priest I saw leaving the house?" "Yes, Father Rinaldo." " Your aunt isn't..." " You needn't worry, it's nothing serious." "I'm glad." "She seems so old, so frail." "She couldn't really be your aunt?" "There must be generations between you." "Here's your copy of the agreement, Mr. Burton." "Amelia?" "Come here, Amelia." "You want to talk to me about something?" "I believe you wanted to see me, come in." "You can sit there, it's very comfortable." "You can visit me whenever you like." " But did someone send you?" " Oh, no!" "I just wanted to see..." " Going to be a pretty room now." " I'm glad you like it." "My mother would beat me if she knew I was here." "They don't like you." " Who doesn't like me?" " My mother..." "Miss Tina." "I hear some talking." " But I like you." " What did they say, Amelia?" "My mother said..." " you'd bring bad luck." " And Miss Tina?" "She's wicked." "She gave my cat to Vittorio!" "Dry your tears." "Go on, it's yours, I'm giving it to you." "Remember, I said we're going to be friends." "It's so soft." "Pretty." "It's charming, Amelia." " I can wear it to church." " Yes, Yes." "Amelia... is miss Tina always wicked?" "No." "Sometimes's she's kind." "Sometimes..." "It's better when she's wicked." "Mother protect me..." "What did you see, Amelia?" " I have to go back." " So soon?" "I made some milk for my kittens." "It's very dark, should I light a candle for you?" "Oh, no!" "I know my way." "I know all the rooms, and all the ways to get to them." "I hide sometimes." "I have secret places." "I know everything about this house." "Perhaps, um..." "one day you'll take me with you?" "No!" "I didn't do anything!" " Stupid girl." " No!" "It's mine." "It's mine!" "No!" "I don't like strangers." "We hadn't had a cut of beef like that in a year." " What are you looking at?" " The garden." "He's putting the weeds." "Stop rising your head." "We have enough to tell the priest already." "Taking that handkerchief." "You want to be sent away?" "Good morning." "It looks like another warm day." "The kettle's boiling, that's good." "Miss Juliana's feeling very well this morning." "She's sitting out on the balcony in the sun." "You've been crying, Amelia." "That lodger." "You've bring us bad luck, miss Tina." "Sugar jar fell and broke this morning." "Last night there was a ring around the Moon." "Saints preserve us." "In all the years I've been here, there's never been a man in this house." "Now a stranger with all those bocks and books." "He's carrying a walking stick." "Mr. Burton must have some business in the city." ""Always yours, Kathleen."" "I hope I haven't taken too much of your time, Father." "No." " I did want to get to know you." " I am pleased." "You must be very lonely where you are, Mr. Burton." "At times I am." "They're, um..." " they're rather strange people, Father." " In what way?" "This may interest you." "Just look at those signatures." " Miss Juliana signed it?" " No, miss Tina signed both of them." "Oh." "Are you concerned about its legality, Mr. Burton?" "No." "I just.." " I thought that it's very odd." " You did?" "Mr. Burton, let us be frank with each other." "When miss Tina told me that you were coming into the house as a lodger," "I wondered about it." "What would a young man, of means, obviously, want in a place like that?" "Escape from the world, perhaps?" "Forget an unhappy love affair?" "Which is it, Mr. Burton?" "Neither, Father." "I, um, write." "As I explained to miss Tina." "Of course, I do confess a certain amount of..." " curiosity." " I'd put it out of my mind, Mr. Burton." "A normally young man wouldn't want to live in that house at an end of time." " Unless he had a special reason." " What do you suspect me of, Father?" "Miss Tina and miss Juliana are not average people." "They have a life of their own." "A world of their own." "And the stranger upsetting the balance of that world, even unwittingly, you wouldn't want to cause a tragedy, would you Mr. Burton?" "You seem to feel that I have some..." "deep dark motive?" " What, Father?" " I don't know." "But I do know that the blunder might unleash things far beyond your control." "And my control." "I would be very careful, Mr. Burton." "If I had any hope of finding the letters quickly, they were soon dispelled." "I was in a blind alley." "I never so caught a glimpse of Ms. Juliana or Ms. Tina." "I wondered what they did, and talked about." "They seemed to me like haunted creatures, feigning death." ""My darling Kathleen:" "Six long weeks have gone by." "I still feel that Ashton's letters are in this house, and that if I don't bungle..."" "Is that you, Mr. Burton?" "Please, do come in." "It would seem I'm not the only one who can't sleep." " I..." " No need to explain." "There's no need." "I was afraid for a moment I hadn't heard anything." "That would be awful, wouldn't it?" "Just to imagine things." " Yes, it would." " Mr. Burton..." "Ah..." "Ah yes." "You must be a very rich, young man." " Why, I've been very fortunate..." " Yes." "They want to take my house away." "But they can't." "They can't!" "Because as long as I stay here, I'll never die." "Never!" "Do you know much about curiosities, Mr. Burton?" " Curiosities?" " Antiquities." "Old Jim cracks." "Do you know the kind of price they bring?" "Do you want to sell something?" "Yes, I..." "I want to sell." "Go on, take it." "Look at it." "Look at it in the candle light." "It is lit, isn't it?" "Yes, it's lit." "Of course, if you don't know who he is, it may not seem so valuable." " I know who he is." "Jeffrey Ashton." " Yes." "May I ask where you got this?" " My father painted it." " Your father?" "I happen to know something about Jeffrey Ashton." "As what writer doesn't?" "He lived a long time ago, my dear lady." "A long time ago?" "No, it was only yesterday." "The music floated down toward the garden," "You've no idea what famous people used to come here." "The greatest of our time." "The most brilliant, yes..." "dancing and talking." "The house all lighted up." "That's when he came into the house." "That dreadful night." "Jeffrey!" "What happened to him, and the letters he wrote you?" "Do you have them?" "Would you pay my price for the painting?" "Would you really sell it?" " What is your price?" " I know the least I would take." " What might that be?" " A thousand English pounds." " I'll give you a thousand English pounds." " No, not to me." "Give it to Father Rinaldo." "He'll know what it's for." "Tina must not know, is that clear?" " I can take this with me now?" " Yes." "May I come again sometime and talk to you about him?" " Who was that playing?" " Good night, Mr. Burton." "You will take the money to Father Rinaldo." "It will take a little time to get the money transferred from the bank." " But I will see him." "Good night." " Please go." "Quickly!" "That eerie music still rang and echoed in my ears." "Where'd it come from?" "In that fearful, incredible moment, I knew." "I'd plunged off the presentness into the past." "But here was Juliana, real beyond belief." "Beautiful, alluring, alive." "How strange this was..." "Miss Tina who walked dead among the living, and living among the dead." "So there you are." "Where have you been prowling?" "He loves me." "We walked along the Piazza this afternoon." "And he bought this for me." "And he put it on my finger." "I once want to be lovely." "For him." "And yet, I suppose, after all the beautiful women he's known." "But he does love me." "I know he loves me!" "I thought you'd never come." "You're very beautiful." " Am I?" " Yes." "I never realized before." "I've never seen your hair that way." " You haven't?" " Nor your eyes shine like that." "One would think you'd never seen me before." "Never like this." "Your dress." "It's the same one I wore when we fist danced together." " Yes, I know." " Hold me close, Jeffrey." "For a moment I was afraid." "I don't know why." "He's asleep." "She is too, I think, although you can never tell about her." "Father told me he saw you." "I can imagine how unpleasant it must've been." "In a way, I pity him, Jeffrey." "He's leaving for Rome next week to paint cardinal Petucci." "And I'm not going with him." "He'll be gone a month." "It can be our month away from here, away from his suspicion and hate, and that horrible spying old woman." "After that, nothing matters." "You can write your friend and tell him we're coming." "A month up there in the cold, wet snow." "Just the two of us." "Nothing to be afraid of, no secrecy." "Isn't that what you want, darling?" "Tell me why do you love me, Jeffrey." "I love you..." "because your name is Juliana." "And because of the thousand things I cannot name." "Your ring is so beautiful, Jeffrey." " Oh!" " Only one." "I wish you'd inscribe something in it." "I will." "I've a feeling someone's been searching this room." " Why?" " Your letters." "It may have been father." "No woman since time began has ever received such letters." "My life before you was so empty." "With you..." "Turn out the candle, someone may have seen the light." "Oh Jeffrey, to be with you is all I ever wished for." "Love me, love me." " 'Morning, Pietro." " Good morning, signore." " Doing very well." " I'm not doing so good for my back." " This isn't proper work for a gondolieri." " There's proper pay." "Si, signore." "This is a funny spot, signore." "The grass would not come up." " No?" " No." " Perhaps there's too much clay." " Yes, but why just here, signore?" "I'm sure I don't know, Pietro." "I saw the signorina this morning." "And I said to her like you told me, if she wished to use the gondola," " I am always at her service." " Good for you." "She say she had no use for the gondola." "These are not friendly people, signore." "Just the same, cut a basket full of roses and have them sent up to Ms. July." "This came for you a little while ago." "Thank you." "It's a beautiful day." "I hadn't noticed it especially." "If you'll excuse me." "I asked Pietro to cut some roses for your aunt." "That was very considerate of you, Mr. Burt..." "Don't you think she'd like them?" "I had the feeling that she'd love beautiful things." " And at once, she herself was beautiful." " She was." "Is there a portrait of her in the house?" " No." " Oh, what a pity." "I would've given anything to see what she was like." "Her hair down to about her shoulders." "Her eyes shining." "Her beauty that inspired poets." "Was she happy?" "I've often wondered if beauty doesn't bring more sorrow than happiness." "Miss Tina." "Last night I heard music." " Music?" "We're a long way from the Piazza." " It wasn't that kind of music." "I heard it in my room." "It was faint, lovely." "It seemed like music out of another century." "That came from the other side of the house." "You must be a writer of romantic stories, Mr. Burton." "No one lives on the other side of the house." "And there couldn't have been any music." "Perhaps." "After all, this place does stimulate one's imagination." "Mr. Burton, I've never understood why you came here." "But for whatever reason, it would be better if you left." "This time I was instructed to see you, Father." " By whom?" " Miss Bordereau, the elder." "Oh?" "I purchased a painting from her, a miniature." "The sum was a thousand pounds." "She didn't want the niece to know about the transaction, she instructed me to bring it to you." "Here it is." "She said you'd know what to do with it." " When did you see her?" " Last night, Father." " And miss Tina knows nothing about it?" " No." "Well thank you, Mr. Burton, for bringing the money." "If I may, Father, I'd like to ask a question." "Well, certainly." "Well, I... read a rather curious story yesterday." "In a strange way, it was concerned with faith." " Father, believe me." " What was the story, Mr. Burton?" "It was about a girl." "Who seemed to live two lives." "One in the present, and the other in the past." "You have found out about miss Tina." "I was afraid that you would." "My advice for you, Mr. Burton, is to leave." "Before I cause the tragedy you spoke about?" "Yes." " Isn't it a tragedy now, Father?" " Perhaps, Mr. Burton." "But if she didn't have the past, she would have nothing." "There she knows happiness." "Even a kind of..." "love." "There is nothing, no one in the present who can give her that." "That's why, in her case, I prefer illusion to reality." "Your money will save the Bordereau house." "I can only trust that miss Tina wouldn't miss the painting." "It was the painting of Jeffrey Ashton, wasn't it?" " Good evening, Charles." " Lewis!" "When'd you get back?" " You came to see miss Bordereau?" " No, of course not." "I waited at Floria." "Since I had to see you, I came here." "Shall we go to my rooms?" "This is an interesting house." "I literally feel crowded by ghosts." "Why this is charming, Lewis, charming." "Why did you want to see me?" "I was curious." "About the progress you're making." "After all, it's been some time since you vanished into this tomb." "Well I sent you the money, Charles." "Our business was over." " I thought that was clear." " But your business." "If, uh.." "If you find the love letters, Lewis, it'll be quite a win for you, won't it?" "The love letters of Jeffrey Ashton, in a beautiful little volume?" "Why they'll sell like wildfire." "Every dreaming girl, every tongue tied lover will carry the book next to his heart." "A million copies, Lewis." "A million dollars." "I told you, I'm not after money." "Yes, yes, Lewis." "I know how noble your motives are." "You are concerned for the world and its need for beauty." "But I'm concerned about myself." " And I have a desperate need for money." " You're being tiresome." "It'd be a shame if the divine Juliana should discover that her lodger wasn't." "Wiliam Burton, an eager young writer." "But Lewis Venable, an unscrupulous publisher digging for the love letters of Jeffrey Ashton." "Now look here, Charles." "I don't want to..." "I've been discussing your work with miss Tina." "She's quite interested in what you're doing." "Don't you think she's a beautiful woman, Lewis?" " Strange, but don't you feel..." " Get out, Charles." " You don't frighten me, Lewis..." " You've been paid for your services." "Why didn't you get the letters yourself?" " It isn't too late." " Get out." "My aunt would like to see you, Mr. Burton." "I know it's very late, but I saw a light coming from underneath your door." "I haven't interrupted your writing, have I?" "No." "No, I was just reading." "If you'd excuse me for a moment." "I hope that Charles, um, Mr. Russell, didn't cause you any inconvenience this afternoon." "I didn't mind." "He's a great admirer of yours." "He seems to think you do very important work." "Oh, Charles was in one of his extravagant moods." "Isn't it odd that I can't think of you as a writer at all?" " Mr. Burton is here." " Ah, how nice!" "How kind of you, Mr. Burton." "It's always a pleasure to see you, miss Bordereau." "Is it?" "Is it?" "Don't close the door, Tina." "That is, might we all have some tea together?" " At this hour?" " Hour?" "There's no difference between hours for me, no morning, no night, no seasons." "Please, Tina, some tea for Mr. Burton and myself." "Mr. Burton may not care for tea." " I'd like it very much." " There, you see, Tina?" "Go on, go on." "It's so long since I've entertained." "Very well." "I won't be long." "Our best silver service and our Bone China teacups." "It will be a party!" "A tea party!" "It's kind of you to send flowers, Mr. Burton." "Amelia tells me you've done wonders with the garden." "And oh, what a wonderful garden it was!" " I can well imagine." " Mr. Burton!" " Yes?" " Go to the door." "See if she's there!" " She's gone." " Mr. Burton, give me my ring." "Your ring?" "You have it." "I know." "I know how it happened." "She's kept off to me all day, she searched the room." "How could I have lost it?" "You see, she doesn't know." "And I've been sitting here and thinking, and all off a sudden I knew." "Last night you heard the music, didn't you, Mr. Burton?" " You said so." " Yes I did." "And you followed the music to my room, and you saw her." "And somehow you got the ring." "Give it to me, Mr. Burton." "Please." "Please!" "Thank you!" "Thank you, Mr. Burton." "It's so terrible when she's like that." "She's Juliana." "Me!" "And you know who she thinks I am?" " Rosa!" " Rosa?" "Our own house keeper." "How I hated her." "Miss Tina hates her too." "Sometimes I'm afraid she's going to kill me." " She wouldn't do that." " Wouldn't she, wouldn't she?" "Last night she said I had been spying on her, and there was murder in her voice, Mr. Burton." "You have nothing to fear." "Miss Tina isn't capable of murder!" "Ha!" "What do you know about murder?" "It's the gentle souls who seem sweet and loving to the world." "With an innocence of children, and then, out of nowhere..." "something happens." "And you have murder, Mr. Burton." "The ring." "How did you get it from her?" "Miss Tina wanted me to inscribe some words on it." " I was going to return it to you." " Oh words... words... we had no need of that." " You and Jeffrey.." " Yes?" " You must've been very proud." " Oh yes." " And loved him." " Yes, yes." "But I wasn't as proud as she is, nor loved him as much." "I feel sometimes that she's taken him away from me." "No one could do that." "I was very beautiful..." "And he, he was like a god." "The ring?" "Is that how it begins with miss Tina?" "She comes here and takes it?" "And then becomes you, Juliana?" " The ring, and the letters." " The letters?" "How?" "I used to read them to her as a child." "She liked to hear them over and over again." "Her eyes would shine as if they were fairy tales." "And when I couldn't see to read anymore, I told her where I kept them hidden." "And she'd read them to me." "Then she wouldn't let me have them at all." "And it began." "She read them up there, alone." "And became me." "I became Rosa." "When I ask her for the letters, she doesn't hear me." "But they're my letters, Mr. Burton." "Mine." "And if I had them, she'd never become Juliana again." " Where are they?" "Do you know?" " Would you get them for me?" "Would you?" "Yes, of course." "I've asked Father Rinaldo so many times, but he says leave it on to her now." "And the others, Maria, Amelia, I've asked them, they're afraid." "They know, and they're afraid of her and that room." " Is that where they are?" "In that room?" " Yes." "I want to touch them." "Know that they're mine." "I used to keep the letters in a box behind the Bible." " Behind the Bible?" " No one knew where they were." "Not even Jeffrey." "You were so quick, Tina." "We'll have our party now." "I was telling Mr. Burton about the daisies we used to have along east wall." "He may put some in next week." "Although it's a little late for daisies." " Did you bring the Bone China cups?" " Yes." " Lemon or cream, Mr. Burton?" " Lemon, please." "It's quite late." " I'd better go." " You will come again, Mr. Burton?" " Yes, I will." "Good night." " Soon." "Soon!" "'Night, miss Tina." "Jeffrey?" " I was afraid you were never coming back." " Why, Juliana?" "I don't know." "I don't." "You've only been gone two days." "Yet my life stopped." "I dreamed that something had happened to you." "And I knew I could never live without you." "Oh, darling, darling." "It's different now." "I know." "But until a moment ago..." " You do love me, Jeffrey?" " Yes, Juliana, yes." "This afternoon I ran out of the house." "Past St. Mark's, and the old man who sold the pairs." "I tried to remember all the things we've said to each other." "And how we felt." "I remembered nothing." "I was alone." "And you had gone from me forever." "I had to have something that was you." "I went up to my room to get your letters." "Not to read them..." "Just to hold them." "And I came down here to be alone with them." "With you." "Remember our first dance together." " Is there anything that I can..." " Mr. Burton..." "Would you be kind enough to send Pietro for Dr. Cassiano," " and Father Rinaldo?" " Of course, at once." " Someone was in my aunt's room." " Yes..." "I saw him leave through the window." " Did you?" " Yes." "I was in the garden." "I ran after him, but he got away." "Did he, Mr. Burton?" "I better send for Dr. Cassiano." "The events of the night had unnerved me." "I kept thinking of one thing only." "That letters.." "letters." "So as to keep myself from going to pieces." "I got it, signore." "I got it for you." "She went in to see the old one, and I found it in the room." "You're a good girl, Amelia." "For you, signore." "I did it for you." "Yes, Amelia." "You better go now, they may miss you in the house." "Go, Amelia." "How long would she stay there, blocking my path to the letters, and to the end of this terrifying venture?" " I didn't mean to startle you Mr. Burton." " No, no." "That's alright, Padre." "Have you been out walking?" "I can imagine it'd be difficult to sleep after what's happened here tonight." " I wonder whoever talked with you?" " How is miss Juliana?" "One never knows about her." "Dr. Cassiano just left." "From the medical point of view, she's dying." "But then, she's been dying for a great many years." " Won't you sit down?" " Yes, thank you." "I'd like to put your mind at rest, if that's necessary, Mr. Burton." "Miss Tina seemed to think that you were the intruder." "But a while ago, miss Juliana was able to speak for a few moments, she said it wasn't you." " I owe you an apology, Mr. Burton." " An apology?" "For what?" "Oh, the way I reacted to your humane curiosity about miss Tina." "I thought about it after you left." "Like my good friend, Dr. Cassiano," "I sometimes have a tendency to form snap judgments." "We look at the color of a man's eyes, notice his posture, sniff the air, and we not only guess his illness, but decide whether he's a decent fellow or a scoundrel." "And your, um, diagnosis was that I was a scoundrel?" "A mistaken diagnosis." "I was mistaken about miss Tina, too." "Because to love a shadow is not love." "I was in this house when she was brought into the world." "She never had a chance." "There was no escape." "I thought about you for a long time, Mr. Burton." "It seemed to me that you were in love with miss Tina." "And that you may win out toward your rival..." "Jeffrey Ashton." "If miss Tina were to love someone in the present, love him deeply, Mr. Burton..." "hat love might cure her." " Good night, Mr. Burton." " Good night, Father." "Miss Tina." "Can I do anything?" " No, thank you." " I'm sorry, you'd rather be alone?" "No." " Do you think she'll die?" " No, miss Tina." "I don't think she will." "There'd be nothing." "I'd be lost without her." "She's better." "It's fantastic, but she's better." "No, Tina." "She must be left alone." "She would know when you came into the room and it would excite her." "There's nothing to worry about." "I'd like you to get out of this house for a while, Tina." "When can I see her?" "In the morning." "If I may be so bold," "I would like to suggest that Mr. Burton take you out to dinner." " To the Floria, perhaps." " You're not keeping something from me?" " No, Tina." " Miss Tina?" "Yes?" "It would be a great pleasure if you'd have dinner with me tonight." "I'll stay with miss Juliana, everything will be alright," " or I wouldn't tell you to go." " Miss Tina, would you please?" "Yes." "If you want me to." "Would you wear this... for me?" " When are you going away?" " Away?" "To America, you are going, don't you?" "Yes, of course." " Will you have finished your book?" " I think so." " Will you be glad to go?" " Not exactly." "I know this place." "The proprietor will take good care of us." "The food's magnificent." "Hungry?" "Yes." " Alberto." " Si, signore?" "I don't want the signorina to be disappointed," " so you order the dinner for us." " Si, signore." "You will not be disappointed." " Do you think he'll sing again?" " Yes, I'm sure he will." " Glad you came?" " Yes." "I think so." "You know when we were on Grand Canal and heard the music there?" "Yes?" "Sometimes you can hear it from our house when the night is very still." "When I was little, I used to wonder about it." "And when you grew up?" "I never thought about it." " Do you... remember your family?" " My parents?" "I never knew them." "They lived with my aunt when I was born." "Much later I was told they died in an accident." "There was no feeling." "Because there was no memory." "There will always be memories of miss Juliana." "She's my family." "Would you care to dance, miss Tina?" "Would you?" ""The man you are with is Lewis Venable, the American publisher." "He is trying to steal the love letters of Jeffrey Ashton."" "It was so strange." "I closed my eyes, and I thought..." "I thought... that you're the loveliest woman I've ever known." "What are you doing there?" "He got away." "I saw him, he was trying to reach for the signorina's purse." "He was a thief." "Well that's strange." " He seems to have taken nothing." " Oh no no, signorina." "I saw him before he could steal anything." " Well, thank you very much, Alberto." " Is our dinner ready?" " Well si signore." "Right away, right away." " Thank you." " I'll always remember this evening." " I too." "When I think how rudely I behaved towards you these past weeks.." " No, I understood." " But I don't understand." "And tonight.." " Tonight?" " You've been very kind." "After you're gone, I hope you won't think too poorly of your stay here." "I promise you, I won't." "Is there someone waiting for you?" "I saw her picture in your room." "Do you love her?" "I would imagine you loved her very much." "Well, I'm not sure that we... ever cared for each other..." "the way it's possible to care." "It was more as if we comforted each other, while waiting for someone else." "I never thought I'd be standing here like this with you." "Not wanting to say good night." " I thought it." " When?" " Often." " At times, I'd watch you in the garden." "When you'd leave..." "and when you'd come back from the city." "I wondered why you avoided me for some time." " You know what I used to think?" " No." "That there was some awful secret you were hiding." "Secret?" "And when your aunt told me that she knew Jeffrey Ashton," "I thought it had something to do with that." "I was afraid that you wanted his letters." "His letters?" "Many months ago, a publisher wrote and asked about them." "His name was Lewis Venable." "I wrote him that we knew nothing about such letters." " But they do exist?" " The love she knew, the love he gave her was hers alone," " not to be shared with anybody." " Tina?" "To would've known that kind of love," " to have filled one's life..." " Tina, listen to me." "Men like Jeffrey Ashton happen very rarely." "And what they leave behind, Tina, the glow.. the shadow..." "Every scrap of memory, every remembered speech, every letter... belongs to the millions who live after them." "Do you want the letters?" "If I did, would you get them for me?" "I don't know what I'd do..." "Or wouldn't do." "I must go." " Good night." " Good night, Tina." "For a moment, I hesitated." "The memory of the evening, Tina..." "lovely beyond words held me." "But no." "It was an illusion." "The letters..." "The letters alone are what I had come for." "Were what I wanted." "Is that you, Mr. Burton?" "Where are the letters?" "Oh, don't." "You spied on us!" "Told lies to my father." "Taken his bribes, and now you've stolen the letters, Rosa." "I'm Juliana, not you!" " Give me the letters, Rosa." " They're my letters!" "You took them!" "Give them to me." "He has them now." "Mr. Burton." "I told him where they were and to bring them to me, they're mine!" "Give them to me." "Jeffrey's waiting for me." "No, nobody's waiting for you!" "Jeffrey is dead, Tina!" "Dead for both of us." "Father buried him in the garden, near the barn." "I killed him!" "I killed him." "He was going to leave me, and I killed him!" " Give them to me!" " Tina, Tina!" "Tina..." "Here are the letters, Tina." "Tina, Tina..." "At that moment, I recalled Juliana's words." "As long as she had that house, she would never die." "And as long as Tina had been at that house, among its memories, she had never lived." ""Forever Jeffrey""