swered, in a tone that did not promise
forgiveness. Lamberti wondered what sort of man Palladio had been, since
the girl did not at all resemble her mother, who had clearly been pretty
and foolish in her youth, and had only lost her looks as she grew older.
The obliteration of middle age had set in.

There might have been some awkwardness, but it was dispelled by the
appearance of Guido, who came in unannounced at that moment, glancing
quickly at each of the group as he came forward, to see who was there.

"At last!" exclaimed the Princess, with evident satisfaction. "How late
you are, my dear," she said as Guido ceremoniously kissed her hand.

"I am very sorry," he said. "I was out when your note came. But I should
have come in any case."

"You know the Countess Fortiguerra, of course," said the Princess.

"Certainly," answered Guido, who had not recognised the lady at all, and
was glad to be told who she was, and that he knew her.

Lamberti watched him closely, for he understood every shade of his
friend's expression and manner. Guido shook hands with a pleasant smile,
and then glanced at Cecilia.

"My nephew, Guido d'Este," said the Princess, introducing him.

Cecilia looked at him quietly, and bent her head in acknowledgment of
the introduction.

"My daughter," murmured the Countess Fortiguerra, with satisfaction.

"Mademoiselle Palladio and her mother have just come back from Paris,"
explained Monsieur Leroy officiously, as Guido nodded to him.

Guido caught the name, and was glad of the information it conveyed, and
he sat down between the young girl and her mother. Lamberti was now
almost sure that his friend was not especially struck by Cecilia's face;
but she looked at him with some interest, which was not at all to be
wondered at, considering his looks, his romantic name, and his
half-royal birth. For the first time Lamberti envied him a little, and
was ashamed of it.

Barely an hour earlier he had wished that he could make Guido more like
himself, and now he wished that he were more like Guido.

"The Countess has been kind enough to ask me to her garden party," Guido
said, looking at his aunt, for he instinctively connected the latter's
anxiety to see him with the invitation.

So did Lamberti, and it flashed upon him that this meeting was the first
step in an attempt to marry his friend to Cecilia Palladio. The girl was
probably an heiress, and Guido's aunt saw a possibility of recovering
throu