As Fulvia's oration neared its end the murmur
rose to a roar. Startled faces were turned toward the doors of the
council-chamber, and one of the Duke's gentlemen left his seat and made
his way through the audience. Odo sat motionless, his eyes on Fulvia. He
noticed that her face paled as the sound reached her, but there was no
break in the voice with which she uttered the closing words of her
peroration. As she ended, the noise was momentarily drowned under a loud
burst of clapping; but this died in a hush of apprehension through which
the outer tumult became more ominously audible. The equerry reentered
the hall with a disordered countenance. He hastened to the Duke and
addressed him urgently.
"Your Highness," he said, "the crowd has thickened and wears an ugly
look. There are many friars abroad, and images of the Mountain Virgin
are being carried in procession. Will your Highness be pleased to remain
here while I summon an escort from the barracks?"
Odo was still watching Fulvia. She had received the applause of the
audience with a deep reverence, and was now in the act of withdrawing to
the inner room at the back of the dais. Her eyes met Odo's; she smiled
and the door closed on her. He turned to the equerry.
"There is no need of an escort," he said. "I trust my people if they do
not trust me."
"But, your Highness, the streets are full of demagogues who have been
haranguing the people since morning. The crowd is shouting against the
constitution and against the Signorina Vivaldi.
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