The chief reason of his unfailing success
lay in the fact that, in the game of love, he shrank from no artifice,
no duplicity, no falsehood that might further his cause. A great portion
of his strength lay in his capacity for deception.
'What shall I do--what shall I say when she comes?'
His mind was all undecided and yet the minutes were flying. Besides, he
had no idea in what frame of mind Elena might arrive.
It wanted but two or three minutes now to the hour. His excitement was
so great that he felt half suffocated. He returned to the window and
looked out at the steps of the Trinita. She used always to come up those
steps, and when she reached the top, would halt for a moment before
rapidly crossing the square in front of the Casa Casteldelfina. Through
the silence, he often heard the tapping of her light footsteps on the
pavement below.
The clock struck four. The rumble of carriage wheels came up from the
Piazza di Spagna and the Pincio. A great many people were strolling
under the trees in front of the Villa Medici. Two women seated on a
stone bench beside the church were keeping watch over some children
playing round the obelisk, which shone rosy red under the sunset, and
cast a long, slanting, blue-gray shadow.
The air freshened as the sun sank lower. Farther off, the city stood out
golden against the colourless clear sky, which made the cypresses on the
Monte Mario look jet black.
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