Then suddenly he turned cold, and he felt his skin roughening.

A stealthy step sounded behind him.
He crumpled the Duke's letter in his hand, and in the alarm of the moment, he dropped it over the wall.

Seeking vainly to compose the features that a chilling fear had now disturbed, he turned to see who came.
Behind him stood Peppe, his solemn eyes bent with uncanny intentness upon Gonzaga's face.
"You were seeking me ?" quoth Romeo, and the quaver in his voice sorted ill with his arrogance.
The fool made him a grotesque bow.
"Monna Valentina desires that you attend her in the garden, Illustrious.".