"Yes. I have heard my mother say that the Portas killed my brother and
burned our house. My father then massacred the whole family. How is it
that you survived?--for you were tied to the posts of the bed before
they set fire to the house."

"I do not know," replied Luigi. "I was taken to Genoa when six years
old, and given in charge of an old man named Colonna. No detail about
my family was told to me. I knew only that I was an orphan, and
without property. Old Colonna was a father to me; and I bore his name
until I entered the army. In order to do that, I had to show my
certificate of birth in order to prove my identity. Colonna then told
me, still a mere child, that I had enemies. And he advised me to take
Luigi as my surname, and so evade them."

"Go, go, Luigi!" cried Ginevra. "No, stay; I must go with you. So long
as you are in my father's house you have nothing to fear; but the
moment you leave it, take care! you will go from danger to danger. My
father has two Corsicans in his service, and if he does not lie in
wait to kill you, they will."

"Ginevra," he said, "this feud, does it exist between you and me?"

The girl smiled sadly and bowed her head. Presently she raised it, and
said, with a sort of pride:--

"Oh, Luigi, our love must be pure and sincere, indeed, to give me
strength to tread the path I am about to enter. But it involves a
happiness that will last throughout our lives, will it not?"

Luigi answered by a smile, and pressed her hand.