At last the two men
were informed that Corona had returned. They left the study and
found her in the sitting-room.
"Where is Giovanni?" she asked as soon as they entered. She was
standing before the fireplace dressed as she had come in.
"I have no idea where he is," replied Saracinesca. "I suppose he
is at the club, or making visits somewhere. He has turned into a
very orderly boy since you married him." The old man laughed a
little.
"I have missed him," said Corona, taking no notice of her father-
in-law's remark. "I was to have picked him up on the Pincio, and
when I got there he was gone. I am so afraid he will think I
forgot all about it, for I must have been late. You see, I was
delayed by a crowd in the Tritone--there is always a crowd there."
Corona seemed less calm than usual. The fact was, that since the
affair which had caused her husband so much annoyance, some small
part of which she had perceived, she had been trying to make up to
him for his disappointment in not knowing her secret, by being
with him more than usual, and by exerting herself to please him in
every way. They did not usually meet during the afternoon, as he
generally went out on foot, while she drove, but to-day they had
agreed that she should come to the Pincio and take him for a short
drive and bring him home.
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