BEATRICE enters.

BEATRICE: Where are you going?

TRUFFALDINO: Nowhere. I was waiting for you.

BEATRICE: Good. Go immediately to the gondola, get my trunk and take it into Brighella’s Inn.

TRUFFALDINO: [aside] Damn it! Not that inn! [To BEATRICE] In that inn, did you say?

Lazzo of ‘Word Play’: A word play game between TRUFFALDINO and BEATRICE with the words ‘in’, ‘inn’ and ‘Brighella’ and anything that rhymes with those words. TRUFFALDINO attempts to purposely cause confusion and distract BEATRICE into lodging elsewhere.

BEATRICE ends the lazzo.

BEATRICE: Are you some kind of dimwit? I said Brighella’s Inn. That one. That inn right there!

TRUFFALDINO: Keep your shirt on. Why didn’t you say so in the first place? [Aside] Can’t blame me for trying.

BEATRICE: Now go to the post office of Turin and ask if there are letters for Federigo Rasponi and Beatrice. Va, va, va. [Go, go, go.]

TRUFFALDINO: Got it. Letters for rigatoni and salsicce [sausages].

BEATRICE exits.

SCENE FOUR

SILVIO enters, sword drawn.

SILVIO: Where is your master?

TRUFFALDINO: My master is in his inn.

SILVIO: Go immediately henceforth into your master’s inn, tell him that I demand to speak with him. If he is a man of honour, he will face me, man to man.

TRUFFALDINO: But Signor—

SILVIO: Go now!

TRUFFALDINO: But I don’t know—

SILVIO: Less backchat or by heaven I’ll …

TRUFFALDINO: [aside] Which one does he want?

SILVIO: Hurry or I shall give you a good beating!

TRUFFALDINO: [aside] I know. I’ll just send the first one I see …

SILVIO practises his sword techniques.

TRUFFALDINO exits and re-enters with FLORINDO.

FLORINDO has a napkin and wipes his mouth.

You ate without me?

TRUFFALDINO exits.

SILVIO: [aside] Federigo may have got away with his life once, but this time he won’t be so lucky!

FLORINDO: [aside] Is this the one who was enquiring after me? [To SILVIO] Signor, are you the one who was enquiring after me?

SILVIO: [aside] Where is Federigo and who is this? [To FLORINDO] Where is Federigo and who is this?

FLORINDO: [aside] I don’t know him, what could he possibly want from me? [To SILVIO] I don’t know you, what could you possibly want from me?

SILVIO: La riverisco. [I revere thee.]

FLORINDO: Riverito. [I accept that you have revered me.] My servant told me that you demanded to see me in a threatening manner.

SILVIO: He misunderstood. I told him I wanted to speak with his master.

FLORINDO: I am his master.

SILVIO: Either your servant looks like someone else whom I met this morning or he is serving another master.

He laughs.

FLORINDO: [aside] What an arse. [To SILVIO] Not a problem.

FLORINDO goes to leave.

SILVIO: [to FLORINDO] I was looking for a certain Federigo Rasponi—you wouldn’t happen to know him?

FLORINDO: [to SILVIO] Did you just say Federigo Rasponi?

SILVIO: Yes. And he lays claim to take my bride.

FLORINDO: Impossible, he cannot lay your bride, he is dead.

SILVIO: Yes, we all thought he was dead, but this morning he arrived in Venice alive and well.