be her face. Her face was her dark blue eyes, and the smoky eyelashes around them and the utter seriousness which overcame her quite suddenly now.
It was such a sharp shift of expression he felt he must have caused it. And in an instant he understood something about her. She could not conceal her thoughts and emotions as other women did.
She did not move, but he felt exactly as if she were menacing him suddenly. He was certain she wanted to touch him, and he wanted to touch her! He could already feel the smooth flesh of her neck in his hands, her cheek against his thumb; he wanted to touch the delicate little curves of her ears. He imagined himself doing terrible things to her, and he could feel himself flush. It seemed absurd that she would wear clothing at all; her soft arms, her small wrists, that glimmer of pink flesh beneath her chemise, all of it was part of a delectable being that was foolishly, unnaturally disguised.
But this was dreadful.
The blood pounded in his face, and bowing his head for a moment, he let his eyes drift over all the painted faces around her, the great flashes of magenta and burnt umber and gold and white that made up this dazzling universe that had obviously come from her brush.
Yet she was inescapable. And she terrified him. Even the black taffeta of her dress disturbed him; why should she paint in black? The gleaming cloth was streaked with color, and she was so young and so seemingly innocent, and black was very wrong for her, and at the same time there was that delicious negligence about her, that soft disregard he’d found in her every single time their eyes had met.
She was smiling again. Bravely, she was smiling at him, and he had to speak to her; he must. He was going to tell her something proper and decent, but he couldn’t think what and then to his absolute terror, she extended her naked hand.
“Won’t you come in, Signore Treschi?” she said in that same sweet treble. “Won’t you come in and sit with me for a while?”
“Oh, no, Signorina.” He made a deeper bow this time, backing away. “I don’t wish to disturb you, Signorina, and I…we…I should like to…I mean, we have never really been introduced, I…”
“But everyone knows you, Signore Treschi,” she said with a little nod to the chair near her, and that gaiety flashed exquisitely in her eyes before it abruptly died away.
She fell to staring at him in absolute silence when he did not move and merely stood staring in the same manner at her.
And he was doing exactly that and nothing more when he heard his name repeated behind him by the Contessa’s valet, who said he was wanted upstairs.
He positively rushed to answer the summons. The house was already crackling with laughter and thin music as he hurried along the upper corridor to be shown right into the Contessa’s rooms.
But then he saw Guido standing idly by with his lace shirt opened over his naked chest, and the Contessa herself just slipping into a ruffled dressing gown beside her immense and lavishly draped bed.
He was furious. He almost went out. But this woman was innocent of any attempt to wound him. She knew nothing of his bond with Guido, no more than anyone else knew of it. And when she saw Tonio, she brightened at once.
“Ah, beautiful child,” she said. “Come here. Come here and listen to me.” She lured him across the room with both her upturned little hands.
Tonio threw Guido his iciest smile and approached with a short bow. Her stout little figure looked warm all over as if it had only just been folded in a blanket or in the act of love.
“How is your voice tonight?” she said to him. “Sing to me now!”
He was outraged. He glared at Guido. He was being trapped.
“Pange Lingua,” she intoned, melting beautifully into the full Latin phrase.
“Sing, Tonio,” Guido said softly. “Your voice, is it all right tonight, good, bad, what?” His hair was all tousled and there was about him in the open shirt an almost lush look. There is your beautiful child, Tonio thought, your cherub. And this is what I get for loving a peasant.
He shrugged and let loose the beginning of the Pange Lingua at full volume.
The Contessa drew back and gave a little shout. And Tonio wasn’t surprised as his voice sounded immense and