At her first words he had folded her caressing hand in his, but he dropped it in immediate displeasure and walked quickly away from her, speaking indignantly. \"They talked of this in thy presence?\"
\"They said an abbé was imprisoned in the Piombi; they said it was against the law to imprison ecclesiastics except by the authority of the Pope. Oh, Marco mio, I am afraid he will be very angry!\"
\"What else did they tell thee?\" he questioned doggedly.
\"They said there was a Canon Saraceni also—both imprisoned in Venice. \"What else?\"
\"Nothing more—but only about some law of Venice that I did not understand; I wished to ask thee.\"
\"And Fra Francesco was here and heard them talk?\"
\"Nay, Fra Francesco stays never long; and this was but a few moments before thy coming. I left the Sala Tiziana to see if all were going well in this little salon, and they were speaking of Vicenza, and I asked them. Wherefore art thou angry, Marco? What kept thee so late to-night?\"
She had never seen him in such a mood; he had persistently refused to meet her beseeching glance; but now he drew a quick breath of relief, and came back to her side.
\"It was this miserable matter of Vicenza that detained the Council in such lengthy session,\" he said, \"and it was not fit to have been mentioned in thy presence, my sweet wife; I might well be angry. But since thou wert not there, I can pardon them.\"
\"Yes, it was I who questioned them,\" she repeated eagerly, anxious to shield her guests from her husband''''s indignation, though she did not understand it. \"They were talking of the Abbot of Nervessa and of his Holiness, and when I came they rose to do me honor; and I also, to be not lacking in courtesy, said, ''''Le prego, Signori—I beg of you,'''' and bade them continue the talk in which they had seemed full of interest. Marco, in the Senate—do they know that the Pope is angry about the Abbot of Nervessa?\"
Her eyes were full of the eagerness of her question. If they but knew all would be well, she thought; she had so wished for Marco to be there and hear them talk!
\"Marina, this whole matter is a question for the government to decide; it is not for ecclesiastics to discuss—they know nothing of any laws but their own. This is a civil case.\"
\"Would they not understand things better if they were allowed representation in the Senate?\" she persisted. \"And what is this law? And why is the subject not fit for Venetian nobles to discuss, since it touches them so nearly?\" She was growing disturbed, for she feared some injustice, since Marco had not been indignant at the strange condition she had unfolded to him, and she had thought it must suffice only to name it to him.
The young patrician looked at her in amazement. Fra Paolo was indeed right, yet he had been almost indignant at the suggestion.
\"The subject cannot be discussed,\" he said, in quick, hard tones, \"because the Abbot of Nervessa hath committed crimes so atrocious that thou would''''st shrink at the bare naming of them. And for Saraceni—the Canon of Vicenza—there came one day to the Senate a noble lady of Vicenza, young, and very beautiful, and in great trouble, casting herself at the feet of the Serenissimo, imploring protection from disgrace that the canon would bring upon her—a scandal I had never thought to name to thee. And there are other charges.\"
\"It cannot be true!\" she cried, flushed and trembling. \"Dear Marco, they are priests!\"
\"The truth will be decided by the integrity of the law,\" he answered, severely; \"they shall have justice at our courts; but it is a question for the civil courts, since the people also cry for justice, and the ecclesiastical law is not to deal with heinous civil offenses—though committed by one in priestly robes. It is a just law of Venice—ancient, and only now reaffirmed.\"
\"This is the law they spake of, Marco?\"
Now that she dimly understood there was some great trouble coming on the people, she must know the right at any cost—even that of her husband''''s displeasure; it was her duty to him, and she had put her question firmly.
\"This—and another,\" he answered, unwillingly. \"Listen, Marina, for I am weary of thy questions. The law to forbid new foundations of church or monastery, or the introduction of new religious orders without the sanction of the government—also an ancient law, and but now reaffirmed—is doubtless that of which they spake.\"
Marina stood confounded, with flashing eyes; how could the Republic dare to question the liberties of the Church! \"Thou meanest, Marco, that the Church, which is the head, must ask the Doge what she may do when she would increase her own religious institutions—when she hath need of buildings for her holy work!\"
\"Thou hast an understanding quicker than I had believed,\" he answered, with irritation; \"and listen further, Marina—''''since a Giustinian should know the reason for the matters which concern the government,'''' that was thy word, if I remember—the half of the territory of Venice hath already passed into the hands of the clergy. Is that not ground enough to hold their establishments, that thou wouldst grant them more? And for the value of these possessions—for nowhere is a government more generous to the ecclesiastics than the Republic hath been—it hath been rated that a fourth part of the entire realty of the dominion—nay, some count it a third part—is already the property of the Church. Shall we nobles of Venice turn paupers and humbly beg of the clergy a pittance for our children?\"
He laughed and kissed her hand as he rose. \"Since thou hast asked it,\" he said lightly, \"I have given thee the law—and there is an end of it. But let it not fret thee; Venice will know how to care for her own.\"
But Marina had suddenly grown very pale. \"Marco,\" she gasped, detaining him, \"will it be a war?—a war between Venice and—and——\"
She broke off; she could not speak the word which seemed a sacrilege.
\"Think of our child!\" she whispered, as he gathered her in his arms, and tried to soothe her. \"Marco, are we not a Christian nation? And our Patriarch—does he know about the displeasure of the Holy Father? What will become of us?\"
\"There will be no war,\" Marcantonio declared, with assurance. \"Thou see''''st, carina, these matters are not for women to discuss; they cannot understand; they are questions for the government alone; and well it is for us that the clergy are out of it, or we might have the spectacle of a Senate drowned in tears! There will be no war,\" he declared again, mistaking the self-control for which she had bravely struggled as an outcome of his attempts at consolation. \"And now, since thou art thy sweet self again, hath the boy not made the day richer for thee with some tale of wonder thou wouldst unfold?\"