marriage.

The loss of Clelia left Fabrice inconsolable. He shunned society; he
lived a life of religious retirement, and gained a reputation for piety
that even inspired the jealousy of his good friend the Archbishop.

At length Fabrice emerged from his solitude; he came forth as a
preacher, and his success was unequalled. All Parma, gentle and simple,
flocked to hear the famous devotee--slender, ill-clad, so handsome and
yet so profoundly melancholy. And ere he began each sermon, Fabrice
looked earnestly round his congregation to see if Clelia was there.

But Clelia, adhering to her vow, stayed away. It was not until she was
told that a certain Anetta Marini was in love with the preacher, and
that gossip asserted that the preacher was smitten with Anetta Marini,
that she changed her mind.

One evening, as Fabrice stood in the pulpit, he saw Clelia before him.
Her eyes were filled with tears; he looked so pale, so thin, so worn.
But never had he preached as he preached that night.

After the sermon he received a note asking him to be at a small garden
door of the Crescenzi Palace at midnight on the next night. Eagerly he
obeyed; when he reached the door, a voice called him enter. The darkness
was intense; he could see nothing.

"I have asked you to come here," said the voice, "to say that I still
love you. But I have vowed to the Virgin never to see your face; that is
why I receive you in this darkness. And let me beg you--never preach
again before Anetta Marini.