The Iguana by Anna Maria Ortese

Author:Anna Maria Ortese [Ortese, Anna Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9780914232957
Amazon: 0914232959
Publisher: McPherson
Published: 1987-10-01T14:00:00+00:00

XII

Daddo Abandons the Closet

More coins. Daddo’s dream.

The little servant was at the top of the stairs. She had passed through the kitchen, dreamlike, much as a person coming out of semi-obscurity will take in a sudden light as nothing more than a haze of bright confusion. Crouching, she felt her way down the steps. No matter what she might suspect, it was clear that she wouldn’t for the moment have been able to see anyone.

This juncture, for the Count, was so grave that the young man pushed the covering of his hatchway completely aside— in no way bothering to be cautious—and prepared to make a rapid descent into the cellar so as to distract the attention of the assembled company from the poor miserable beast. But the onlookers were already so sharply affected by the appearance of the servant that it was of the figure of the Count, now outlined against the ceiling, that no one took notice, and the architect from Milan came to find himself seated on the topmost rung of his ladder in simple consideration of the unfolding of events. We can add that he removed his pipe from the pocket of his jacket, partly as a means of taking charge of his emotions and partly mechanically, but he didn’t light it. This little operation too passed unremarked.

The Count could now relieve himself of any residual doubt he may have had about the truth of a time-honored observation on the absolute aplomb enjoyed by persons of exquisitely-bred manners, no matter how awkward the circumstances. On the faces of all the members of the group, and most particularly on the face of his almost-brother, since it was he who stood in the nearest distance, the Count saw the sudden formulation of expressions of calm and cordiality, some species of affected tenderness substituting for the agitated emotions that had gripped them no more than an instant before. Splendid civility stared out from the pupils of a good eighteen eyes, patiently following the renewed incarnation of Evil as she descended the stairs and directed her tiny steps towards the corner she was most familiar with, where her money was hidden in the ground. A scene of sheer perfection, marred only by the appearance of a great dark shadow that came to stand between the creature and the attainment of her goal: the shadow of the taciturn Hipolito, the brother of the rustic cook. He caught up with the creature and took her by surprise, grasping her like a cat by the scruff of the neck and hissing out a stream of softly modulated words:

“Since when has our Iguana learned to enter without knocking? Or perhaps you didn’t see that ladies and gentlemen are in the room? So now you’re downright unmannerly, added to the rest of the mischief you cause!” Then, turning to the guests, “I have to ask you to excuse us.”

“Oh, but not at all!” exclaimed two or three voices at once, which were the voices, to be precise, of the Hopins family (since this, as we’ll see in a moment, was who they were).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.