The Princess took care that as much
light as possible should be cast upon the whole affair, and to the
Baroness Volterra's stupefaction and delight, told every one that the
match had been made under her auspices, and that the Conti family owed
her eternal gratitude for it and for her care of Sabina during nearly
three months. The Princess told the story of the night in the vaults
again and again, to her friends and relations, extolling everything
that Malipieri had done, and especially his romantic determination to
show the girl he was going to marry the treasures which should have
belonged to her, before any one else should see them.
The Princess told Volterra, laughingly and quite frankly, that her
lawyer would do everything possible to get for her a share in the
value of the statues discovered, and Volterra, following her clever
cue, laughed with her, and said it should be a friendly suit, and that
the lawyers should decide among themselves how it should be settled,
without going into court. Volterra was probably the only man in Rome
who entertained a profound respect for the Princess's intelligence;
yet he was reckoned a good judge in such matters. He himself was far
too wise to waste regrets upon the failure of his tactics, and the
stake had not been large, after all, compared with his great fortune.
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