He sent to enquire when he might take leave of her, but
she excused herself on the plea of indisposition, and before nightfall
he heard the departing rattle of her wheels.
He immediately summoned Andreoni and announced his unconditional refusal
of the terms proposed to him. He would not give a constitution or
promise allegiance to the French. The minister withdrew, and Odo was
left alone. He had dismissed his gentlemen, and as he sat in his closet
a sense of deathlike isolation came over him. Never had the palace
seemed so silent or so vast. He had not a friend to turn to. De Crucis
was in Germany, and Trescorre, it was reported, had privately attended
the Duchess in her flight. The waves of destiny seemed closing over Odo,
and the circumstances of his past rose, poignant and vivid, before his
drowning sight.
And suddenly, in that moment of failure and abandonment, it seemed to
him again that life was worth the living. His indifference fell from him
like a garment. The old passion of action awoke and he felt a new warmth
in his breast. After all, the struggle was not yet over: though Piedmont
had called in vain on the Italian states, an Italian sword might still
be drawn in her service. If his people would not follow him against
France he could still march against her alone. Old memories hummed in
him at the thought. He recalled how his Piedmontese ancestors had gone
forth against the same foe, and the stout Donnaz blood began to bubble
in his veins.
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