the covered gallery which ran along the back of the house was flooded in the afternoon with sunshine. here, as the day declined, i loved to pace, basking in the warmth and rejoicing in the brightness, for mild and clear as the day might be out of doors, within the thick-walled palace it was always mirk and chill.
the long, high wall of the gallery was covered with pictures—chiefly paintings of dead and gone brogi—most of them worthless, taken singly; taken collectively, interesting as a study of the varieties of family types.
here was bianca, to the life, painted two centuries ago; the old marchese looked out from a dingy canvass 300 years old at least, and a curious mixture of romeo and his sister disported itself in powder amid a florid eighteenth century family group. conspicuous among so much indifferent workmanship hung a[pg 62] genuine bronzino of considerable beauty, representing a young man, whose charming aspect was scarcely marred by his stiff and elaborate fifteenth century costume. the dark eyes of this picture had a way of following one up and down the gallery in a rather disconcerting manner; already i had woven a series of little legends about him, and had decided that he left his frame at night, like the creatures in "ruddygore," to roam the house as a ghost where once he had lived as a man.
opposite the pictures, on which they shed their light, was a row of windows, set close together deep in the thick wall, and rising almost to the ceiling. they were not made open, but through their numerous and dingy panes i could see across the roofs of the town to the hills, or down below to where a neglected bit of territory, enclosed between high walls, did duty as a garden.
in one corner of this latter stood a great ilex tree, its massive grey trunk old and gnarled, its blue-green foliage casting a wide shadow. two or three cypresses, with their broom-like stems, sprang from the overgrown turf, which, at this season of the year, was beginning to be yellow with daffodils, and a thick growth of laurel bushes ran along under the walls. an empty[pg 63] marble basin, approached by broken pavement, marked the site of a forgotten fountain, the stone-crop running riot about its borders; the house-leek thrusting itself every now and then through the interstices of shattered stone. forlorn, uncared for as was this square of ground, it had for me a mysterious attraction; it seemed to me that there clung to it through all change of times and weathers, something of the beauty in desolation which makes the charm of italy.
it was about four o'clock on thursday afternoon, and i was wandering up and down the gallery in the sunshine.
i was alone for the first time during the last three days, and was making the best of this brief respite from the gregarious life to which i saw myself doomed for some time to come. the ladies were out driving, paying calls and making a few last purchases for the coming festivities. in the evening andrea was expected, and an atmosphere of excitement pervaded the whole household.
"they are really fond of him, it seems," i mused; "these people who, as far as i can make out, are so cold."
then i leaned my forehead disconsolately against the window, and had a little burst of sadness all by myself.
[pg 64]
the constant strain of the last few days had tired me. i longed intensely for peace, for rest, for affection, for the sweet and simple kindliness of home.
i had even lost my interest in the coming event which seemed to accentuate my forlornness.
what were other people's brothers to me? let mother or one of the girls come out to me, and i would not be behindhand in rejoicing. "no one wants me, no one cares for me, and i don't care for any one either," i said to myself gloomily, brushing away a stray tear with the back of my hand. then i moved from the window and my contemplation of the ilex tree, and began slowly pacing down the gallery, which was getting fuller every minute of the thick golden sunlight.
but suddenly my heart seemed to stop beating, my blood froze, loud pulses fell to throbbing in my ears. i remained rooted to the spot with horror, while my eyes fixed themselves on a figure, which, as yet on the further side of a shaft of moted sunlight, was slowly advancing towards me from the distant end of the gallery.
"is it the bronzino come to life?" whispered a voice in the back recess of my consciousness. the next moment i was laughing at my own fears, and was[pg 65] contemplating with interest and astonishment the very flesh-and-blood presentiment of a modern gentleman which stood bowing before me.
"i fear i have startled you," said a decidedly human voice, speaking in english, with a peculiar accent, while the speaker looked straight at me with a pair of dark eyes that were certainly like those of the bronzino.
"oh, no; it was my own fault for being so stupid," i answered rather breathlessly, shaken out of my self-possession.
"i am andrea brogi," he said, with a little bow; "and i believe i have the pleasure of addressing miss clarke?"
"i am miss meredith, your sister's governess," i answered, feeling perhaps a little hurt that the substitution of one english teacher for another had not been thought a matter of sufficient importance for mention in the frequent letters which the family had been in the habit of sending to america. andrea, with great simplicity, went on to explain his presence in the gallery.
"i am some hours before my time, you see. i had miscalculated the trains between this and livorno. now don't you think this a nice reception, miss[pg 66] meredith?" he went on, with a smile and a sadder change of tone. "no one to meet me at the dep?t, no one to meet me at home! father and brother at the club, mother and sister amusing themselves in the town."
his remark scarcely seemed to admit of a reply; it was not my place to assure him of his welcome, and i got out of the situation with a smile.
he looked at me again, this time more attentively. "but i fear you were really frightened just now. you are pale still and trembling. did you think i was a ghost?"
"i thought—i thought you were the bronzino come down from its frame," i answered, astonished at my own daring. the complete absence of self-consciousness in my companion, the delight, moreover, of being addressed in fluent english, gave me courage.
as i spoke, i moved over half-unconsciously to the picture in question. andrea, smiling gently, followed me, and planting himself before the canvas contemplated it with a genuine na?ve interest that was irresistible.
i stood by, uncertain whether to go or stay, furtively regarding him.
"was there ever such a creature," i thought;[pg 67] "with your handsome serious face, your gentle dignified air for all the world like romeo's; with your sweet italian voice and your ridiculous american accent—and the general suggestion about you of an old bottle with new wine poured in—only in this case by no means to the detriment of the bottle?"
at this point the unconscious object of my meditation broke in upon it.
"why, yes," said andrea, calmly, "i had never noticed it before, but i really am uncommonly like the fellow."
as he spoke, he fixed his eyes, frank as a child's, upon my face.
as for me, i could not forbear smiling; whereupon andrea, struck with the humour of the thing, broke into a radiant and responsive smile. i thought i had never seen any one so funny or so charming.
at this point a bell rang through the house. "that must be my mother," he said, growing suddenly alert. "miss meredith, you will excuse me."
i lingered in the gallery after he had left, but my forlorn and pensive mood of ten minutes ago had vanished.
rather wistfully, but with a certain excitement, i listened to the confused sound of voices which echoed up from below.
[pg 68]
then i heard the whole party pass upstairs behind me, the heels of the ladies clattering in a somewhat frenzied manner on the stones.
annunziata was laughing and crying, the marchesa was talking earnestly, the young ladies scattered ejaculations as they went. every now and then i caught the clear tones of andrea's voice.
at dinner that night there was high festival. every one talked incessantly, even romeo and his father. we had a turkey stuffed with chestnuts, and the marchese brought forth his choicest wines. at the beginning of the meal i had been introduced to the new arrival, and, for no earthly reason, neither had made mention of the less formal fashion in which we had become acquainted. some friends dropped in after dinner, and andrea was again the hero of the hour—a rather trying position, which he bore with astonishing grace. as for me, i sat sewing in a distant corner of the room, content with my spectator's place, growing more and more interested in the spectacle.
"that costanza!" i thought, rather crossly, as i observed the handsome contessima smiling archly at andrea above her fan. "i wonder how long the little comedy will be a-playing? as for the end, that,[pg 69] i suppose, is a foregone conclusion." then i bent my head over my crewelwork again. i was beginning to feel annoyed with andrea for having passed over our first meeting in silence; i was beginning also to wish i had furred slippers like bianca's, as a protection against the cold floor.
"miss meredith," said a voice at my elbow, "you are cold; your teeth will soon begin to chatter in your head."
then, before i knew what was happening, i was led from my corner, and installed close to the kindling logs. and it was andrea, the hero of the day, who had done this thing; but had done it so quietly, so much as a matter of course, as scarcely to attract attention, though the marchesa's eye fell on me coldly as i took up my new position.
"it really does make the place more alive," i reflected, as i laid my head on my pillow that night. "i am quite glad the marchesino is here. and i wonder what he thinks of costanza?"
