, the two towers of which stood out boldly
against the blue cloud-flecked sky.
'How exquisite!' exclaimed Donna Maria. 'No wonder you are so deeply
enamoured of Rome!'
'Oh, you don't know it yet,' Andrea replied, 'I wish I might be your
guide'--she smiled--'and undertake a pilgrimage of sentiment with you
this spring.'
She smiled again, and her whole person assumed a less grave and
chastened air. Her dress, this morning, had a quiet elegance about it,
but revealed the refined taste of an expert in style and in the delicate
combinations of colour. Her jacket, of a shade of gray inclining to
green, was of cloth trimmed round the edge with beaver and opening over
a vest of the same fur, the blending of the two tones--indefinable gray
and tawny gold--forming a harmony that was a delight to the eye.
'What did you do yesterday evening?' she asked.
'I left the concert-hall a few minutes after you and went home; and I
stayed there because I seemed to feel your spirit near me. I thought
much. Did you not _feel_ my thought?'
'No, I cannot say I did. I passed a very cheerless evening. I do not
know why. I felt so dreadfully alone!'
The Contessa di Lucoli passed in her dog-cart, driving a big roan.
Giulia Moceto, accompanied by Musellaro, passed on foot, and then Donna
Isotta Cellesi.
Andrea bowed to each. Donna Maria asked him the names of the ladies.
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