Two Who Learned

# "Two Who Learned," by Eleanor M. Ingram

This Gothic domestic drama concerns two Italian sisters, Gemma and Fiora, daughters of the Marchese di San Onofrio, forced into marriage negotiations with Duke Guido of Belfiore, rumored to have poisoned his own brother. Desperate to prevent the marriage, Gemma obtains a poison from an old woman, intending to use it against the Duke. When a violent storm interrupts the ritual preparation, the poison is spoiled. The Duke arrives incognito as "Don Luigi," accompanied by his kinsman Don Martin de Contarini. Don Luigi shows immediate interest in the younger, gentler Fiora, while Gemma recognizes him as the Duke. Don Martin proves a complex courtier—charming yet ruthless, harboring his own ambitions against Guido. Gemma attempts to enlist Don Martin's aid in protecting her sister and discovers he would gladly see Guido dead. The narrative breaks with Gemma retrieving a poison phial from her jewel case as Fiora sleeps.