Noemi stammered "I do not know" so hesitatingly that Jeanne, in great agitation, declared she must leave at once for Subiaco, that she must know the truth.

She had already promised Maria Selva to bring her sister back.

She would find some means of persuading Carlino to start immediately.

Noemi was frightened.

For her own peace of mind, as well as for Don Clemente's, her brother-in-law would not wish Jeanne Dessalle to return to Subiaco.