Her hand twitched at his arm, but they were turning at the end of the
corridor and she pretended to trip over her train.
"Some clues missing still, however, and to find them we are sending
Minghelli to London."
"London? Anything connected with my father?"
"Possibly! We shall see. But there's the orchestra and here's your box!
You're wonderful, my dear! Already you've undone the mischief he did
you, and one half of your task is accomplished. Diplomatists! Pshaw!
We'll all have to go to school to a girl. Adieu!"
All through the next act Roma seemed to feel a sting on her arm where
the Baron had touched it, and she was conscious of colouring up when the
Princess said: "Everybody is looking this way, my dear! See what it is to be the most
talked-of girl in Rome!"
And then she felt David Rossi's hand on the back of her chair, and heard
his soft voice saying: "The light is in your eyes, Donna Roma. Let me change places with you
for a while."
After that everything passed in a kind of confusion. She heard somebody
say: "He's putting a good deal of heart into it, poor thing!"
And somebody answered, "Yes, of broken heart apparently."
Then there was a crash and the opera was over, and she was going out in
a crowd on David Rossi's arm, and feeling as if she would fall if she
dropped it.
The magnificent English carriage drew up under the portico and all four
of them got into it.
"Grand Hotel!" cried Don Camillo. Then dropping back to his place he
laughed and chanted: "And the dead he slew at his death were more than he slew in his
life ... and he judged Israel twenty years."
V
A marshy air from the Campagna shrouded the city as with a fog, and
pierced through the closed windows of the carriage, but there was warmth
and glow in the Grand Hotel.
One woman after another came in clothed in diamonds under the fur cloak
which hung over her bare arms and shoulders, until the room was a
dazzling blaze of jewels.
People caught each other's eyes through lorgnettes and eye-glasses, and
there were constant salutations. The men chattered, the women laughed,
and there was an affectation of baby-talk at nearly every table. Then
supper was served, glasses were held up as signals, and bright eyes
began to play about the room, until the atmosphere was tingling with
electric currents and heated by human passion.