XLV
'And Madame Grandoni, then?' asked Hyacinth, reluctant to turn away. He felt pretty sure that he should never knock at that door again, and the desire was strong in him to see once more, for the last time, the ancient, troubled suivante of the Princess, whom he had always liked. She had seemed to him ever to be in the slightly ridiculous position of a confidant of tragedy in whom the heroine should have ceased to confide.
'E andata via, caro signorino,' said Assunta, smiling at him as she stood there holding the door open.
'She has gone away? Bless me, when did she go?'
'It is now five days, dear young sir. She has returned to our country.'
'Is it possible?' exclaimed Hyacinth, disappointedly.
'E possibilissimo!' said Assunta. Then she added, 'There were many times when she almost went; but this time—capisce———' And without finishing her sentence the Princess's Roman tirewoman indulged in a subtle, suggestive, indefinable play of expression, to which her hands and shoulders contributed, as well as her lips and eyebrows.
Hyacinth looked at her long enough to catch any meaning that she might have wished to convey, but gave
