FLORENCIO. "This woman and this man, the two greatest, the two pure, the two unselfish pa.s.sions of my life, in whom my very being was consumed--how can I bring myself to confess it? I hardly dare admit it to myself! They are in love--they love each other madly--in secret--perhaps without even suspecting themselves."
CAROLINA. What do you think of that?
FLORENCIO. Suspecting themselves.... "They are struggling to overcome their guilty pa.s.sion, but how long will they continue to struggle? Yet I am sorry for them both. What ought I to do? I cannot sleep."
CAROLINA. What do you say?
FLORENCIO. Impossible! He never wrote such letters. Besides, if he did, they ought never to have been published.
CAROLINA. But true or false, they have been published, and here they are. Ah! But this is nothing! You ought to see what he says farther on.
He goes on communicating his observations, and there are some, to be perfectly frank, which n.o.body could have made but himself.
FLORENCIO. You don"t mean to tell me that you think these letters are genuine?
CAROLINA. They might be for all we know. He gives dates and details.
FLORENCIO. And all the time we thought he suspected nothing!
CAROLINA. You do jump so at conclusions, Florencio. How could he suspect? You know how careful we were about everything, no matter what happened, so as not to hurt his feelings.
FLORENCIO. This only goes to show all the good that it did us.
CAROLINA. He could only suspect--that it was the truth; that we were loving in silence.
FLORENCIO. Then perhaps you can explain to me what was the use of all this silence? Don"t you see that what he has done now is to go and blurt the whole thing out to this rascal Casalonga?--an unscrupulous knave whose only interest in the matter is to turn these confidences to his own advantage! It is useless to attempt to defend it. Such foolishness was unpardonable. I should never have believed it of my friend. If he had any doubts about me--about us--why didn"t he say so? Then we could have been more careful, and have done something to ease his mind. But this notion of running and telling the first person who happens along.... What a position does it leave me in? In what light do we appear at this time? Now, when everybody is paying respect to his memory, and I have put myself to all this trouble in order to raise money for this monument--what are people going to think when they read these things?
CAROLINA. I always said that we would have trouble with that monument.
FLORENCIO. How shall I have the face to present myself to-morrow before the monument?
CAROLINA. My sisters-in-law were right. We are going to be conspicuous.
FLORENCIO. Ah! But this must be stopped. I shall run at once to the offices of the papers, to the judicial authorities, to the governor, to all the booksellers. As for this Casalonga--Ah! I will settle with him!
Either he will retract and confess that these letters are forgeries from beginning to end, or I will kill him! I will fight with him in earnest!
CAROLINA. Florencio! Don"t forget yourself! You are going too far. You don"t mean a duel? To expose your life?
FLORENCIO. Don"t you see that it is impossible to submit to such an indignity? Where is this thing going to stop? Is n.o.body"s private life to be secure? And this goes deeper than the private life--it impugns the sanct.i.ty of our intentions.
CAROLINA. No, Florencio!
FLORENCIO. Let me go!
CAROLINA. Florencio! Anything but a duel! No, no!
FLORENCIO. Ah! Either he will retract and withdraw the edition of this libel or, should he refuse....
CAROLINA. Zurita!
FLORENCIO. My friend.... You are just in time!
[_Zurita enters._]
ZURITA. Don Florencio.... Carolina.... Don"t say a word! I know how you feel.
FLORENCIO. Did you see it? Did you hear it? Is this a civilized country in which we live?
CAROLINA. But surely he has not heard it already?
ZURITA. Yes, at the Club. Some one had the book; they were pa.s.sing it around....
FLORENCIO. At the Club?
ZURITA. Don"t be alarmed. Everybody thinks it is blackmail--a case of _chantage_. Don Patricio could never have written such letters.
FLORENCIO. Ah! So they think that?
ZURITA. Even if he had, they deal with private matters, which ought never to have been made public.
FLORENCIO. Exactly my idea--with private matters; they are confidential.
ZURITA. I lost no time, as you may be sure, of hurrying to Valdivieso"s shop, where the books are on sale. I found him amazed; he was entirely innocent. He bought the copies supposing that the subject was of timely importance; that it was of a serious nature. He hurried at once to withdraw the copies from the window, and ran in search of the author.
FLORENCIO. Of the author? Is the author in town?
ZURITA. Yes, he came with the books; he arrived with them this morning.
FLORENCIO. Ah! So this scamp Casalonga is here, is he? Tell me where I can find him!
ZURITA. At the Hotel de Europa.
CAROLINA. Florencio! Don"t you go! Hold him back! He means to challenge him.
ZURITA. Never! It is not worth the trouble. Besides, you ought to hold yourself above such things. Your wife is above them.
FLORENCIO. But what will people say, friend Zurita? What will people say?
ZURITA. Everybody thinks it is a huge joke.
FLORENCIO. A joke? Then our position is ridiculous.
ZURITA. I did not say that. What I do say....
FLORENCIO. No, no, friend Zurita; you are a man of honor, you know that it is necessary for me to kill this man.
CAROLINA. But suppose he is the one who kills you? No, Florencio, not a duel! What is the use of the courts?
FLORENCIO. No, I prefer to fight. My dear Zurita, run in search of another friend and stop at the Hotel de Europa as my representatives.
Seek out this man, exact reparation upon the spot--a reparation which shall be resounding, complete. Either he declares over his own signature that those letters are impudent forgeries or, should he refuse....