He is not the sort of
person, it seems to me, to be fooling with maids. He seems as full
of grave thought as Father Salvierderra. If I see anything amiss in
Margarita to-day, I shall speak to her myself, kindly but firmly,
and tell her to conduct herself more discreetly."
Then, as the other maiden's had done, Ramona's thoughts, being
concentrated on Alessandro, altered a little from their first key,
and grew softer and more imaginative; strangely enough, taking
some of the phrases, as it were, out of the other maiden's mouth.
"I never saw such eyes as Alessandro has," she said. "I wonder any
girl should make free with him. Even I myself, when he fixes his
eyes on me, feel a constraint. There is something in them like the
eyes of a saint, so solemn, yet so mild. I am sure he is very good.
And so the day opened; and if there were abroad in the valley that
day a demon of mischief, let loose to tangle the skeins of human
affairs, things could not have fallen out better for his purpose than
they did; for it was not yet ten o'clock of the morning, when
Ramona, sitting at her embroidery in the veranda, half hid behind
the vines, saw Alessandro going with his pruning-knife in his hand
towards the artichoke-patch at the east of the garden, and joining
the almond orchard.
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