in memory of the Queen!"

"But as you are not sentimental--I hope it can be mended. May I tell you
that her Majesty's admiration was well deserved? It is a most charming
costume and not too elaborate. The touch of silver in the dress is just
enough to go with the silver fillet over your hair. White is seldom
becoming to blondes, but it suits you admirably."

She looked up, frankly pleased. "It is nice, really? I am so glad!" She
was perfectly happy, and her smile showed it. The whole evening had been
delightful. The disagreeable impressions made by the Contessa Potensi
and Favorita were forgotten as she danced with Giovanni, who performed a
feat of rare ability in finding a passage through the crush.

Presently he said to her, "When their Majesties have gone into an
adjoining room, then the rest of us can go to supper."

As he spoke, Nina saw them disappear through the doorway. "Are they not
coming back?" she asked.

"No. They have gone."

"But do they never dance?"

"Never! Queen Margherita and King Humbert always opened the ball by the
_quadrille d'honneur_, with the ambassadors and important court ladies
and gentlemen. But the present King abolished all that."

At the end of the waltz Tornik managed to find Nina and announced
supper. In the stampede for food there was such a crush that people
stepped on her slippers and literally swept up the floor with her train.
Tornik, being a giant, and able to reach over any number of smaller
persons, finally secured a _pate_ and an ice. Standing near her, two
young men were stuffing cakes and sandwiches into their pockets. Amazed,
she drew Tornik's attention. He shrugged his shoulders. "Who are they?"
she whispered. "Princes, for all I know," was his rejoinder. "Poor
devils, many of them never get such a feast as this."

CHAPTER XIII

CORONETS FOR SALE

According to Italian etiquette, strangers must leave cards within
twenty-four hours upon every person to whom they have been introduced.
Therefore the afternoon of the day following the ball was necessarily
spent by Nina in three hours of steady driving from house to house.
Finally, as she and the princess were alighting at the Palazzo
Sansevero, Count Tornik drove into the courtyard, and together they
mounted to the apartments used by the family.

Nina settled herself in the corner of a sofa, pulling off her gloves.
Tornik dropped into a loose-jointed heap in a big chair opposite.
Suddenly he sat up str