im, the immensity of
his incredulous joy, appeared on his outside, where merely the mollified
lines of his face gave him a look of greater youth, and his cool-colored
eyes let through a faint testimony of the inward light. "I accept
without hesitation. I promise whatever you ask. From this moment onward
we are _fidanzati_, then. And, my blessed Auroretta, you who are
such a hand at calling names, have your servant's permission to call him
all the names you can think of that signify an ineffable blunderer on
the day when you succeed in freeing yourself from him!"

Many more things were said, not worth recording. But at last devout
silence reigned. In the twilight room, with all the bad pictures and
trivial ornamentation, to shut out the offense of which he had once
closed his eyes, Gerald now closed them again to concentrate more
perfectly upon the rapture of feeling Aurora's shoulder beneath his
cheek.

CHAPTER XXIV

The servant who opened the door for Leslie on this softly brilliant June
morning, being well accustomed to admitting her, obligingly anticipated
her question, "Are the ladies at home?"

"The _signorina_ is in the _salottino_," he said. From which
Leslie understood that the person whom she chiefly had come to see was
out. It did not really matter, for she had time to wait. Aurora was
likely to come back for lunch.

She released the man from attendance by a little wave of her hand,
"Never mind announcing me!" and directed her footsteps toward the tall
white-and-gold door standing partly open.

On her way to it she picked up off the floor a small lawn handkerchief.

The ball-room impressed her anew as being very vast, very empty,
furnished almost solely as it was by the sparkling chandeliers, every
pendant of which to-day was gay with reflections of the green and
flowery and sun-washed outdoors.

She turned toward the _salottino_, remotely wondering by what
chance Estelle was preferring it to the favorite red and green
sitting-room upstairs. The _salottino_ had utility when a party was
going on, but to sit and embroider or study French surrounded by all
those fountains of love....

A sharp bark preceded the tumbling out through the _salottino_ door
of a little white mop on feet. Upon recognizing Leslie, this performed
evolutions expressive of great joy.

She had stopped to pat the excited little swirl of silk when Estelle
came forward to see who was there.

With delighted good mornings t