it was tatum who showed her uncharacteristic kindness and the rumor was hed been in love with her a long time and a couple hundred pounds ago when she was a performer herself , but she chose to marry bevilaqua and they started the show , and then tatum showed up in their lives and won the carnival della strega in a wager that it was further rumored hed rigged , all this of course , to get revenge for his broken heart .