And from Bianca she had heard many things of the same kind.

Married to Bosio, she would be free altogether from any one's interference in her household.
She met them all at luncheon, and was struck by the fact that both men, as well as Matilde, looked pale and harassed, as though they had slept little.

For there was little sleep or rest, except for Veronica, during those days of gnawing anxiety.

She was struck, too, and startled, by Gregorio's hideous laugh, which broke out twice during the meal without any apparent reason.

Even the servants seemed to shudder at it and looked at him anxiously, and Matilde's dark eyes tried to control him.
Indeed, when she looked at him, he seemed docile enough, except that his face twitched very strangely as he nodded to her.
But they all talked, with the evident intention of seeming at their ease; and in a measure they succeeded, for they were not weaklings like Gianluca.