"Merciful heavens! if you did but know all!" cried Giulia, almost frantically. "These diamonds were pledged to the Jew Isaachar ben Solomon, to raise the sum with which thy last debt was paid, Manuel; and--but forgive me if I did not tell thee all this before--not half an hour has elapsed since----" She stopped short; for she knew that the bandit overheard every syllable she uttered. Nor had she time, even if she possessed the power, to continue her most painful explanation; for scarcely had she thus paused abruptly, when the door burst open, and the Count of Arestino stood in the presence of the guilty pair. CHAPTER XXIV. THE INJURED HUSBAND--THE GUILTY WIFE--AND THE INSOLENT LOVER. In fury of heart and agony of mind, rushed the old lord into that apartment. Oh! how had he even been able to restrain himself so long, while listening at the door? It was that the conversation between his wife and the marquis had, as the reader is aware, been carried on in so low a tone--especially on the side of the countess, that he had not been able to gather sufficient to place beyond all doubt the guilt of that fair creature; and even in the midst of his Italian ire, he had clung to the hope that she might have been imprudent--but not culpable, as yet! Oh! in this case, how gladly would that old lord have forgiven the past, on condition of complete reformation for the future! He would have removed his young wife afar from the scene of temptation--to a distant estate which he possessed; and there by gentle remonstrances and redoubled attention, he would have sought to bind her to him by the links of gratitude and respect, if not by those of love. But this dream--so honorable to that old man's heart--was not to be realized; for scarcely was it conceived, when the discourse of the youthful pair turned upon the diamonds--those diamonds which he had given her on the bridal day! Giulia spoke clearly and plainly enough _then_--in spite of the presence of the bandit in that chamber; for she was about to explain to her lover how willingly she would comply with his suggestion to raise upon the jewels the sum he again required--a readiness on her part which might be corroborated by the fact that she had already once had recourse to this expedient, and for _him_--but she dared not adopt the same course again, as her husband might detect the absence of the valuables ere she could obtain funds to redeem them.