He laid so much stress on these points, and expressed so strongly his
repentance for having led the girl into a dangerous scrape, that many
a woman would have guessed at something more. But of this he was quite
unaware when he read the letter over, believing that he could judge it
without prejudice, as if it had been written by some one else. The
explanation was thorough and logical, but there was a little too much
protest in the expressions of regret. Besides, there were several
references to Sabina's unhappy position as the daughter of an
abominably worldly and heartless woman, who would lock her up in a
convent for life rather than have the least trouble about her. He
could not help showing his anxious interest in her future, much more
clearly than he supposed.
The consequence was that when the Signora Malipieri read the letter on
the following morning, she guessed the truth, as almost any woman
would, without being positively sure of it; and she was absent-minded
with her pupils all that day, and looked at her watch uneasily, and
was very glad when she was able to go home at last and think matters
over.
It was not easy to decide what to do. She could not write to Malipieri
and ask him directly if he was in love with Sabina Conti and wished to
marry her. She answered him at once, however, telling him that she
fully understood his position, and thanking him for having written to
her before she could have heard the story from any other source.
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