Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-01
CHAPTER XIX.
Carlotta's Story.

meTeU.
"Of course 1t is Maria Delahay cred.
why don't you be candid with me- /
have told you what my name as and, be-
sides, you already knew When you saw
my husband on that fatal night your like
ness to me would have struck him at once.
and explanations would have followed
Then why are you trying to deceive me
now?"
Il hardly know what I am saying the
countess replied. The whole thing is such
a terrible complication. 1 don't want 10
deceive you, Maria, and 1 VIII tell you al
/ can. You might believe me or not. bat
when 1 read of the death OF Louis Delaha
for the moment l had quite forgotten you.
You see 1t was great shock to me when
you came in just now. especially as l had
not seen you for so many years. But am
getting muddled up again. l am beginning
to wonder which of us Is which. 1t seems
to me that all this miserable business IL
merely the result OF the strong likeness
which exists between u.s.
Never mind that" Mrs. Delahay cried.
IF you will remember. in my cviiencc l
said my husband had gone out that he DID
not return all night, and that found him
dead in Fltzjohn Square in the morning.
1 was out of the hotel for nearly two hours
trying to find you. after 1 had been
strangely put on your track by thu cham
bermatd. Perhaps 1t was foolish thiIi, on
my part to conceal my absence. put, Of
course, l never guessed the result OF iny
folly. 1t never occurred to me tiil alter
ward that my absence from the hot,l could
be easily proved Even that DID not
matter much. And when the witness
Stevens swore that he saw me with my
husband at a time when had said I was
in my hotel. things began to look serious
for me- know perfectly we'll that 1 hay
be arrested at any moment on charge of
numbering my husband. How true trait
charge will be I leave you to judge for
yourself. But the mystery was no longer
a mystery to me when Stevens told the
court most positively that he had seen me
with my husband 1 did not know that
Louis was acquainted with you. He never
mentioned your name, but directly Stevens
had finished knew that 1t must have been
you who was with my husband, and now 1
must ask you to give me an explanation"
THAT is an easier matter than it seems.
Countess Flavio SAID. Il knew Louis Della
hay. though he had no acquaintance with
me-"
That sounds impossible" Maria MUIR
INJURED.
"Oh, I know it does, but 1t is true all the
same. and to make my story plain I shall
have to go back nearly eighteen years.
The events which led to my making Louis
Delahay's acquaintance took place near
Florence at the time l mentioned"
THAT Is strange Mrs. Delahay muir
INJURED. Il was in Florence about then,
too. Yes, / know l told you that I was
practically a prisoner all those years, but
there were times when / had a certain lat-
tude. I was very Ill about that time, and
the doctor ordered me to Florence saying
that 1t was good for me to see people and
mix with crowds. I was supposed to be
there by myself, but there was no move
ment Of mine which was not noted. I never
took even the shortest walk without being
logged and Spied upon. The people who
called themselves my servants were, in
reality, my jailers But why do L worry
you with these trivial details when there
is so much Of Importance to say? Go on
with your story"
We'll, as 1 was saying the countess ex-
planned. Il was in Florence with my hus-
band. We had been married then some
thing like three years. We had rather
lonely villa on the outskirts of the town
Ours was not a happy life: indeed, it was
most miserable. l daresay there were
faults my side, too: but one night
had a violent quarrel, and on the spur OF
the moment 1 made UP my mind to
away. L managed to get all my jewels to-
gether. l managed to leave the house in
darkness and steal through the grounds to
the road. 1 was dressed all in black, and
I remember the night was very thick. Just
as 1 was congratulating myself on my es-
cape my husband overlook me. He was be-
side himself with passion. He laid violent
hands upon me. l believe he would have
killed me If l had not managed to wrench
myself free and make for the road. What
said l do not know, but l suppose our
voices must have carried far, for l had
only got little down the road, with my
husband in hot pursuit behind me, when a
man emerged from the cottage and caught
me by the arm At first L thought he
one of my husbands tools, but the first
words that he said treasured me.
DO not be afraid he whispered L
was trespassing on the counts property
just now and 1 heard all that was said
That man Is dangerous and 1t is neces-
sary that 1 should protect you for the
present. Come in here with me-
HE did not wait for me to consent. He
fairly lifted me from the ground into the
= 1l1 nd 1,tcin nf fhn antf ~
was all done in less time than it takes to
tell. A moment later 1 heard my husband
go raging down the road, and then l knew
that my life was saved. Mind you. it was
altogether too dark to see my rescuer. 1t
would have been imprudent to strike a
light. 1 stayed for some little time until l
regained my composure, after which l
made up my mind to return home again.
1t would never do for people to think that
a Descarti was coward, and, besides,
there were other considerations 1 would
go back home again and give my husband
one more chance, especially as l had
friend in the house In the person of Luigi
Silva, who had followed me my mar
rage. At the same time, l did not forget
the dictates Of prudence. 1t might be still
necessary for me to seek an asylum, and
my instinct told me that / could trust the
man by my side. On the spur of the
ment 1 implored him to take care of my
Jewels for me. He demurred for a time
on the score that he was perfect stranger
to me. then. finally, he consented. at the
same time taking from his pocket card
which he said contained his name and adj
dress And thus the strange interview
ended thus we parted, never to meet again
till that fatal night came together in
Fitzjohn Square. 1 know the story sounds
incredible"
Not to me-" said Mrs. Delahay. sadly.
Nothing could be incredible to woman
who has gone through what 1 have. But
go on. You went back home again. after
intrusting your jewelry to perfect
stranger whose face you had never SEEN"
Indeed I did. And we should never have
known one another even IL we had met. /
went back to the villa, and afterward we
returned to our estate. But it not for
long. month or two later my husband
was found dead in bed, and 1t was proved
beyond question that he had been poisoned.
Then began time for me-a time of ter
ror and anxiety so great that 1 sometimes
marveled that retained my reason. For
four years the torture lasted, and then, at
length, 1 was free. l was in SO strange
and morbid condition that the sight of a
human face was hateful to me. l wanted
to go off and live on some distant island
until 1 recovered my nerve and strength
again. / succeeded at length in finding the
place 1 needed, and for twelve or thirteen
years 1 led a life of absolute seclusion in a
little cottage high up the Italian Alps. l