Beati Paoli

by Luigi Natoli

prologue, chapter 7

He entered at the same time that they brought the usual dinner to the Duchess: a cup of broth and a bit of chicken. A servant carried everything from the kitchen in a tray of silver covered with a very fine napkin, which he delivered to Maddalena, who served his mistress and brought the empty plates back to the servant who was waiting outside the door. The servant set aside to let the knight Albamonte pass, who had taken on an almost ilarous appearance, in full and lively contrast with the paleness of his face and with the trembling of his eyes.

When she came in, Maddalena couldn't stop a tremor and almost overwhelmed the tray she had taken in her hand. It took a prodigious effort to stop yourself from committing nonsense.

Don Raimondo asked his sister-in-law about his health, informed himself of his grandson, said some nice words, sighed; then as Maddalena stood with the tray in her hand waiting for him to turn away from the bed, approached her and with real courtesy as a knight, but with imperious tone: "Give here," he said, "I want to serve the Duchess lady."

She took the tray out of her hands without her being able to oppose it.

Don Raimondo made a gesture with her boss, which meant: "Get out."

He could only obey, but his legs seemed tied to huge lead balls. Obstinating to remain meant unveiling; going out meant abandoning the mistress at the mercy of the killer, but there was no discussion. He slowly withdrew to the doorway, stopping over the threshold to talk with the servant.

Don Raimondo had placed the tray on a small table and turned his back on woman Aloisia. With a quick gesture, pretending to clean up something, he poured the powder into the bowl. Then he brought the bowl to woman Aloisia.

"I pushed Maddalena away," she said, "because I should talk to you about business, if you don't feel tired..."

She had taken the bowl, and with the spoon she was stirring the broth, to cool.

Don Raimondo had become dull, his face had become bruised and his voice had stopped in his mouth. He was waiting for the Duchess to swallow the first spoon and his heart was beating violently. Why didn't it work out? What was he waiting for? Actually, woman Aloisia lingered for a moment, perhaps believing that his brother-in-law was about to speak, but that instant seemed terribly long to Don Raimondo; he felt fast flowing and tormenting life.

The Duchess took the first spoonful slowly. He suffered. He saw death. He calculated the amount of poison that Aloisia woman would absorb at each spoonful and the time it would take to see the effects. To the fear that the spectacle of death, of which he was anti-seeing forms, put in his veins, also mixed a cruel and beastly joy. Now he was sure and he felt a great will to escape.

With a raucous voice he said: "Do you feel tired?.. I think so. It's too late, in fact... If you don't mind, I'll come in the morning."

"Make yourself at your convenience..."

Aloisia didn't seem to wait to see him leave the room, so much the presence of him was serious; to Don Raimondo it didn't seem the time to leave, fearing that the symptoms of poisoning manifested himself present, which would embarrass him. He needed to be alone. He passed before Magdalena without seeing her, but with firm step, keeping his dignity as master.

Maddalena had pulled back with her face congested by the effort she made on herself, but as soon as Don Raimondo passed through the hall, she rushed into the room stuttering with a suffocated voice: "Have you eaten, Your Excellency?.. Did he eat?... Let go, let go!..."

Donna Aloisia looked at her stunned then paled and dropped the spoon on the bowl: "My God!" cried with a trembling voice of weeping and fear "What is it then? Maddalena, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing!... Excellency; it is nothing but it is better not to eat..."

He was banging his teeth out of fear, looking like a crazy woman, searching from here and there, shoving his eyes in front of the duchess who had rejected the dinner.

"Remove, remove! Take everything away; throw it away!... My God, it's horrible, it's horrible! Say, Maddalena, what do you know?... What did you see?... Speak in God's name!"

"I didn't see anything... but I suspect... I tremble... It makes me tremble... Holy Virgin!... Have you had a lot of soup?... Very much?..."

"Five or six spoons... it tasted too salty..."

"Five or six?... Who knows?... Will it be much, will it be little?... It's crazy!... Where am I going? Well... Now I run to Father Don Domenico!...

Yeah, I'll go to him and bring him some of that broth... It's too late, I know, but what does it matter? You have to know... How else to do it?"

"And me?..." Gemes woman Aloisia, overwhelmed by fear of the unknown; "will I be alone?... I'm scared, Maddalena!... I'm scared!..."

The two poor women fought among terrors, uncertainties, contradictions, not resolving, moaning, comforting, wandering, without advice, without help, without hope. Looked like two shipwrecked wave jokes. Maddalena had poured the rest of the broth into a glass and wanted to go to Don Alaimo: but could he get out of the building? At that time everything was closed; to get out you had to wake up the servants, which would have placed the palace above. Ah, be alone!... be alone!... Where was Andrea? Why did he abandon them? He promised to protect them, to help them, and now!...

Maddalena didn't know what to do.

In his desperation he exclaimed: "Madonna del Carmine, help us! St. Francis of Paola, think about it!..."

Donna Aloisia was sweating cold; or fear or reality, she felt a certain malaise.

"Maddalena... I feel sick!... Oh, my poor son!... my poor son!..."

These words overflowed Maddalena's despair; blind with grief, she knew nothing but how to lure herself to an extreme party. He ran to the window to call for help, some pious soul would hear and at least run to call a doctor or Andrea.

A cold breath entered from the open window and caused the lamp to falter. Outside, the dark road seemed to sink into infinity; it was frightening. It was not heard that the growling of the wandering dogs that were scraping among the garbage piled here and there; Maddalena leaned out to shout, but a voice that seemed to come out of the shadows, made her cheat.

"Maddalena... Maddalena!..."

Ah! It was him!... So God had not forsaken them! It was him, Andrew!

"Andrea!... Andrea!..."

He went in like a fury, ran to the bed, shouting: "There's Andrea!... there's Andrea!... Ah, Your Excellency! Our Lady has given us grace..."

It is certain that those words would instill in the heart of woman Aloisia the hope of salvation, returned to the balcony. Andrea seemed impatient.

"Away! Lower the cord... quickly!..."

As he tied the bottle to the thread, Andrew said, "If you realize that his Excellency is sleepy, or it seems that he is sleepy, put a spoonful of this powder in half a glass of water and give it to him to drink... I'll see you at the parish in the morning... Come... Goodbye."

Maddalena wanted to hold him, but Andrea left. Sleep? She went to look at the mistress on whose face she seemed to see as a shadow of sleep: she called her: "Excellency... Excellency... what are you feeling?"

Donna Aloisia looked at her with a plumbee eye, late, stuttering: "I'm tired..."

"Do you feel like sleeping?"

"Yes..."

"Drink, drink this!..."

He placed the glass between her lips with the potion she had prepared, forcing her to drink. His hands had a fever; his eyes were burning; all his energies had turned into one energy. He stayed there, mute, anxious, waiting, fought between doubt and faith, fear and hope. The Duchess sighed, then opened her eyes and yawned, like the one who laughed.

"Ouch."

"How are you feeling, Your Excellency?" he asked again.

The Duchess looked at her with stunned air and murmured: "Did I sleep? How many strange things I have dreamed of!..."

Maddalena shuddered but her eyes flashed with joy! She had won; for that time she had won. He had faith to win always and, kneeling, began to pray fervently inviting woman Aloisia. "Pray, pray, Excellency; that "the Holy Father" never abandon us!"

He had tears in his eyes, tears of joy, tenderness and fear.

Then he added: "Do not eat anything, do not accept anything from anyone, do not let anyone serve you except myself... Sleep, now: sleep quietly!..."

Donna Aloisia was still stunned; she didn't understand well, but she felt in Maddalena's fever, in her own stunnedness something mysterious, terrible, frightening; but she didn't know, or couldn't explain word, and she stayed there, with her eyes barred in the shadows, as if to investigate the mystery of that night.

But that night not only did Maddalena watch; neither did Don Raimondo close his eyes, waiting at any moment to be called by the cries of fear of the servants, and marveling to hear the house quiet and silent. When it was day, he could no longer be in doubt; he rose up, but no matter how much his gaze tried to read in the faces of the servants the dismay of the misfortune that he hoped, he saw nothing but serene faces. Yet something must have happened! He had seen it, with his own eyes, drinking the poisoned broth and the effect of the poison did not doubt it.

He pushed himself to the woman's apartment Aloisia; in the anteroom he met Maddalena who came out of the The Duchess' room, and it seemed to him that he shone in the eye of the faithful servant an ironic triumph. He didn't dare question her. He was certain that woman Aloisia was alive: which was such an extraordinary thing that she could not explain herself except in two ways, or with a supernatural intervention to which she did not believe, or with a deception of Peppa la Sarda; in which case the evildoer would have to do with him. Later he visited, as usual, Aloisian woman, but no matter how much he tried to dominate himself, he could not prevent his face from becoming bruised and in his eyes to light up all the flames of hatred and spite. She did not seem to have suffered: except for a little paleness and a bruised circle around her eyes, her appearance was normal. Evidently the poison had not acted, and Peppa the Sarda had cheated him.

Furious, he sent Giuseppico to the witch's house. But the gloomy servant returned amazed, saying that Peppa had disappeared; the neighbors had found the door open and had not seen the witch all day long. This news stunned Don Raimondo and confirmed him more and more in his suspicion. For him he was more than certain that the sad female had fled to escape his vengeance.

"But I will find her, for God!" he exclaimed; "I will find her, if I go to hell too!"

Meanwhile, his plan was unraveling and another one had to be rebuilt. He immersed himself in his dark thoughts. The first image that appeared to him in the eyes of the mind was that of Maddalena. Instinctively he felt that the faithful waitress was interposed between him and the Duchess and that it was necessary first of all to remove that obstacle. Didn't he surprise Maddalena's gaze with a flash of challenge, a flash of irony? Did she have any idea? Did he have any suspicions? Not being able to answer these questions in a comprehensive way, however, it was necessary to get rid of the ground from a character who, at least, could succeed a dangerous witness. He had fired Andrea, he could fire Maddalena and in the eyes of woman Aloisia could justify his resolution, because he did not doubt that Maddalena disobeyed his orders.

He waited for the night.

At dinner time, he went as usual to greet Aloisia woman and noticed that Maddalena, on one pretext, now with another, was lingering in the room.

On a small table was dinner; a frugal and simple dinner, but he remembered that he had not seen in the anteroom the servant who had brought it.

Maddalena was always wandering around the small table. "What are you still doing here?" Father Raimondo imperiously told her. Maddalena stuttered an excuse, but she realized that she couldn't stop, without raising suspicions or causing something worse.

"Your Excellency is no longer hungry?" she asked the Duchess: and without waiting for an answer, she took the tray on which the dinner was, to take him away.

Don Raimondo noticed that the dinner was intact.

"Leave," he ordered; "my sister-in-law hasn't had dinner yet..."

But the faithful Magdalene, whispering him with a glance, replied: "Your Excellency forgive, but the mistress is not hungry."

And he also took away the bottle of water that was on the night table, took away everything, resolutely, like anyone who wants to steal or steal anything. Don Raimondo didn't miss anything. He lightened and kept his jaws strong; it seemed evident to him that Maddalena had done that act with intention and, deducing, whispered to him the suspicion that she had discovered her maneuvers the evening before. Shortly after he went out: in the anteroom he saw Maddalena in the attitude of those who spy and wait. The tray with the dinner was on a chair, so it was clear that she wanted to take it away from her.

The anger, the fear, the spite, the instinct of defense made him grappled with honor; his hands were a homicidal quiver, but he held back and said: "I am displeased with you. Tomorrow morning you will leave the service."

Maddalena looked him in the face, pale, but resolute: "Your Excellency knows," she replied, "that I am at the services of the Duchess lady... if the Duchess is not happy with me, and she will tell me, I will leave..."

"Here, I command!" retorted hard Don Raimondo, surprised and excited at the same time by that resistance response. "You're going out!..."

And he waited no more, not agreeing with him a squabble with the maidservant, who would diminish his dignity as master and, perhaps, compromise something. Because while Don Raimondo would have wanted to investigate if he had really seen anything, on the other hand the thought of feeling guilty of his crime was freezing his blood. On the other hand, he had his own plan. Fire Maddalena? Yes, he was fine to clear the field: but free and mistress of himself Magdalena, if she truly possessed the terrible secret, became more dangerous. You had to shut her mouth.