elcome himself, but that his
presence had added materially to the enjoyment of others.

Early in the evening Nina was standing with Giovanni a little apart.
Giovanni was unusually quiet, and both had fallen into reverie, from
which Nina was aroused by the sudden announcement of a jarring name.
Like the ceaseless beating of the waves upon a beach, she had heard the
long rolling titles, "Sua Excellenza la principessa di Malio," "Il Conte
e la Contessa Casabella," "Donna Francesca Dobini," "Sua Excellenza il
Duca e la Duchessa Astarte," and then--"Messa Smeet!"

Nina felt a swift pity for the beautiful woman who was forced to suffer
the ignominy of being thus announced. She had herself been daily
conscious of that same flatness when, after the long announcement of her
aunt's and uncle's names, came the blankness of "Messa Randolf."

And in that moment, divining the impression made upon her mind, Giovanni
seized his opportunity. His eyes looked ardently into hers, his smile
was transporting as, with all the warmth of which his voice was
capable, he said, "Donna Nina Sansevero, Marchesa di Valdo!"

Nina's heart fluttered strangely, her will was swayed by the moment's
thrill, as she heard him continuing: "It can surely not surprise you to
hear in spoken words what has long been in my heart to----" But his
sentence was broken off abruptly, for a sudden thinning of the crush
revealed the Contessa Potensi close beside them. Heedless of Nina, the
contessa demanded that Giovanni take her into the supper room for a cup
of tea, and Nina was left with Carpazzi, who had at that moment also
joined them. He took no notice of her absent-mindedness and kept the
conversation going briskly without much help from her, until gradually
she became able to focus her attention upon him.

He talked of many things and finally of Cecelia Potenzi. That he should
have spoken the name of the girl he loved was quite foreign to his, or
in fact to any, Italian nature. But by now Nina had become thoroughly
interested in what he was telling her and her sympathetic eyes had a way
of urging confidences, and besides, as Carpazzi knew, she was very fond
of Cecelia. He spoke quite frankly therefore of his hopes and plans. He
was desperately interested in Derby's mining project because he owned a
piece of property within a few miles of Vencata and if the Sansevero
sulphur mines turned out well probably all the land in the neighborhood
would also be leased by