w was a cadaverous nonentity, with little to recommend him to a
title hunter. As she looked at the girl in question, however, there was
a decided relish in her next remark:

"I think Giovanni Sansevero will carry off that prize! See the way she
is smiling up at him. Ah! and now they are dancing together. Certainly
they make a suitable looking couple."

The duchess straightened her dumpy figure to its greatest possible
height. For once she forgot herself. "Would any one marry a Sansevero
when there is a Scorpa to choose!"

"It has happened," chuckled the princess.

The threatening break in their habitual politeness was averted by the
arrival of a third old lady, the Marchesa Valdeste. As her husband was
the receiver of the "_Gran Collare de l'Anunziata_," a distinction that
gave him the rank of cousin to the king, the duchess and the princess
both rose for a moment in deference. The "collaress" seated herself with
them. In contrast to theirs, her face was sweet and fresh, with an
expression almost like that of a young girl. Her whole personality was
gentle, and she punctuated what she said by a curious little swaying
motion, a bending of the body from the waist, very suggestive of the way
a flower bends on its stalk to the breeze.

The marchesa was also much interested in the new heiress, and although a
certain finish of demeanor now modified their remarks, none of them
attempted to conceal her ambition to secure Nina's money for her own
family.

The Princess Malio was more eager than skeptical as she asked the
marchesa, "Have you heard the story of her half a million dollar income?
Do you believe it possible!"

The marchesa turned her little hands over, palms up. "She has something
incredible, but I cannot say how much. Maria Potensi asked the American
ambassador if the celebrated James Randolph was as rich as reputed, and
he said----"

The duchess became almost apoplectic in her eagerness. "He said----"

The marchesa looked for all the world like a young girl telling a fairy
tale. "He said"--she breathed it in wonder--"that Mr. Randolph's wealth
was so fabulous that it was beyond computing! And _this_ is his _only
child_!"

An awed stillness fell upon the group, each old lady looking and longing
according to her own nature. It was the marchesa who at last broke the
silence. "I cannot deny that I should like my Cesare to be so fortunate
as to win her, but I must confess she and Giovanni Sansevero make a
cha