"Precisely," interrupted Don Agostino. "But in what way will Donna Bianca be helped by all this talk? That is what I do not understand, _figlia mia_."
Concetta directed a shrewd glance at him. "In this way," she replied, "Sor Stefano--oh, and many others, too--intend to see the Principessina Bianca herself, and to explain to her that she and nobody else is _padrona_ at Montefiano, and that they will hear from her own lips, when they have explained matters to her, whether what has been done in her name has her approval or not. This they will do, _reverendo_, not because they do not understand that the _principessina_ is still a child, so to speak, but because they intend Monsieur l'Abbé and the baron to understand that their schemes are known and will not be tolerated. _Mi spiego reverendo_?"
Don Agostino's face flushed and his eyes sparkled with an unusual excitement.
"Do you explain yourself?" he said, repeating Concetta's last words. "Certainly, you explain yourself very well. Ah, if your Montefianesi do that, they will, indeed, be helping their _padrona_."
He paused suddenly, and his countenance became grave and preoccupied.
"And this deputation to the princess," he said, presently--"does your father know of the proposal?"
"Certainly he knows of it," answered Concetta; "but naturally," she added, "he can take no part in it. It is Sor Stefano who will be at the head of it, or perhaps the _sindaco_--oh, and representatives chosen by the _contadini_. And you, _reverendo_, you will surely be asked to join it as the _parroco_. _Sicuro!_ it will all have been settled last night; but as yet I have seen nobody, for until I had delivered the _principessina's_ letter, as I promised her I would do, I could not be easy in my mind."
Don Agostino's expression remained grave and thoughtful. That the people of Montefiano should resent the interference of the Abbé Roux in their relations with Casa Acorari was certainly natural, and might in the end turn out to be a good thing for both Donna Bianca and Silvio. But Don Agostino well knew the danger that must attend any demonstration of hostility towards the princess and her advisers on the part of the peasants. Such demonstrations were apt unexpectedly to assume serious proportions. If the enraged _contadini_ felt that they had the moral support of men like Sor Stefano, they might easily lose their heads, and, should their demands be refused, attempt to enforce them by measures which would necessitate the intervention of the civil authorities, if not of the military. What military intervention too frequently ended in, Don Agostino was fully aware, and he felt every effort should be made to prevent the threatened demonstration assuming any attitude that might furnish an excuse for obtaining it.