answer when you had finished, and
now that you have nothing left to say, you must hear me! You said you
would----'

'I said that there could be no answer.' Nevertheless she waited,
motionless.

'But there is! The answer is that I will free you from the slavery to
which you have sold your soul! The answer is, I love you, and it is
yourself I love, the woman you are now, not the memory of your shadow
from long ago, but you, you, your very self!'

Half out of his mind, he tried to seize her by the arm, to draw her to
him; but he only caught her sleeve, and dropped it as she sprang back
with a lightness and maiden grace that almost drove him mad. She drew
herself up, offended and hurt.

'Remember what I am, and where you are!'

Giovanni's manner changed so suddenly that she would have been
suspicious, if she had not been too much disturbed to reason. She
fancied that she still controlled him.

'You are right,' he said; 'I beg your pardon. Only tell me when I may
see you again.'

'Not for a long time--not till you can give me your word that you will
control yourself. Till then, we must say good-bye.'

He was so quiet, all at once, that it was easier to say the word than
she had expected.

'No,' he answered, 'not good-bye, for even if you will not see me, I
shall be near you.'

'Near? Where?'

'I am living in my brother's rooms at the Magazine. I am in charge till
he gets well. I asked permission to take his place on the day I arrived,
from the Minister himself.'

'You have taken his place!' She could not keep her anxiety out of her
voice.

'Yes, and I hope to get a shot at the fellow who wounded Ugo. But the
post suits me, for the upper part of this house is in sight of my
windows. If you look out towards the river, you can see where I live.'

He spoke so gently that she lingered instead of leaving him at once, as
she had meant to do.

'And besides,' he went on, in the same tone, 'I shall come here every
day until my brother can go home. I may meet you at any moment, in going
to his room. You will not refuse to speak to me, will you?'

He smiled. He seemed quite changed within a few moments. But she shook
her head.

'You will not see me here again,' she answered, 'for my week's turn as
supervising nurse will be over this evening and I am going to a private
case.'

'To-night?' Giovanni asked, with a little surprise.

'Yes, to-night.'

'Do you mean to say that you do not even have a day's rest aft