n front, and a man in livery was seated at the
back, with a long rifle between his knees. The vehicle was a kind of
double cart, capable of holding four persons, and two servants at the
back.

In a moment the two carriages met and stopped side by side. Giovanni
sprang from his seat, throwing the reins to his father, who stood up hat
in hand, and bowed from where he was. Corona held out her hand to
Giovanni as he stood bareheaded in the road beside her. One long look
told all the tale; there could be no words there before the Sister and
the old Prince, but their eyes told all--the pain of past separation, the
joy of two loving hearts that met at last without hindrance.

"Let your servant drive, and get in with us," said Corona, who could
hardly speak in her excitement. Then she started slightly, and smiled in
her embarrassment. She had continued to hold Giovanni's hand,
unconsciously leaving her fingers in his.

The Prince's groom climbed into the front seat, and old Saracinesca got
down and entered the landau. It was a strangely silent meeting, long
expected by the two who so loved each other--long looked for, but hardly
realised now that it had come. The Prince was the first to speak,
as usual.

"You expected to meet us, Duchessa?" he said; "we expected to meet you.
An expectation fulfilled is better than a surprise. Everything at
Saracinesca is prepared for your reception. Don Angelo, our priest, has
been warned of your coming, and the boy who serves mass has been washed.
You may imagine that a great festivity is expected. Giovanni has turned
the castle inside out, and had a room hung entirely with tapestries of my
great-grandmother's own working. He says that since the place is so old,
its antiquity should be carried into the smallest details."

Corona laughed gaily--she would have laughed at anything that day--and
the old Prince's tone was fresh and sparkling and merry. He had relieved
the first embarrassment of the situation.

"There have been preparations at Astrardente for your reception, too,"
answered the Duchessa. "There was a difficulty of choice, as there are
about a hundred vacant rooms in the house. The butler proposed to give
you a suite of sixteen to pass the night in, but I selected an airy
little nook in one of the wings, where you need only go through ten to
get to your bedroom."

"There is nothing like space," said the Prince; "it enlarges the ideas."

"I cannot imagine what my father would