FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127  
128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  
pressed his white handkerchief to his lips, and, leaning on the arms of Lamartine and Arago, hastily left the box. "Ha! the Countess faints!" cried Debray, as the door closed on M. Dantes. "Do they know each other, then?" CHAPTER XIII. THE ITALIAN LOVER. It was early in the evening succeeding the day on which M. Dantes had answered Giovanni Massetti's letter. Zuleika was seated in the vast, sumptuously-furnished salon of the magnificent Morcerf mansion, now, as the reader already knows, the residence of the famous and mysterious Deputy from Marseilles. She sat upon a superb green velvet-covered sofa, half reclining in an indolent, picturesque attitude; behind the sofa and leaning over its back stood a young Italian, a perfect model of manly beauty; his ardent black eyes were riveted on Zuleika's blushing countenance with a look of the most profound and enthusiastic adoration, while his hand held the young girl's with a gentle, loving pressure, which was returned with unmistakable warmth. The apartment was dimly lighted and huge, sombre patches of shadow lay everywhere. Zuleika and her lover were alone together; for some time they seemed too full of happiness to speak, but finally Giovanni said, in a soft, flutelike whisper, as if unwilling to break with loudly uttered words the delicious spell of his love-dream: "Zuleika, darling Zuleika, so you did not once forget me during our long, cruel separation?" "Never for a single instant, Giovanni," answered the young girl, the flush upon her cheek deepening as she spoke, her hand tightening about her lover's and her lovely eyes filling with a soft fire. "But I sometimes feared you had forgotten me!" "You were always present in my mind and in my heart," replied the Italian in a tone that thrilled her through and through. Stooping, he placed his lips to her forehead and imprinted upon it a long and silent kiss; then, flushing in his turn, he added, still holding his head against hers: "From the very moment of our first meeting you have reigned in my bosom, my own, my love, the queen of my destiny and my life!" "Oh! Giovanni, Giovanni," murmured the young girl, "I am happy, so happy!" He kissed her again, this time upon her upturned lips that with a slight movement almost imperceptibly returned the kiss, sending his blood tingling through his veins and causing him to tremble with delight from head to foot. No longer able to restrain himself, he hast
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127  
128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Giovanni
 

Zuleika

 

returned

 
Italian
 

leaning

 

answered

 

Dantes

 

filling

 

lovely

 

present


feared

 
forgotten
 

delicious

 
darling
 
uttered
 

unwilling

 

loudly

 

deepening

 

instant

 

single


forget

 

separation

 

tightening

 

silent

 

slight

 
upturned
 

movement

 

sending

 

imperceptibly

 

murmured


kissed

 

tingling

 
longer
 

restrain

 

causing

 

tremble

 

delight

 

destiny

 

imprinted

 

whisper


flushing
 
forehead
 

replied

 

thrilled

 

Stooping

 
holding
 

reigned

 
meeting
 
moment
 

patches