To one so laden with crimes, Death came armed with double terrors.

Yet should He restore Antonia to light, and stand the chance of her betraying him, how miserable a prospect would present itself before her.

She could never hope to be creditably established; She would be marked with infamy, and condemned to sorrow and solitude for the remainder of her existence.

What was the alternative?
A resolution far more terrible for Antonia, but which at least would insure the Abbot's safety.

He determined to leave the world persuaded of her death, and to retain her a captive in this gloomy prison: There He proposed to visit her every night, to bring her food, to profess his penitence, and mingle his tears with hers.