He was not at the same dinner
party with her, but she went on to a dance at the Marchese Valdeste's,
feeling sure that she would have a chance to speak with him there. He
always danced with her several times during a ball, and, as he was not
very much taller than she, she could easily talk to him without danger
of any one's overhearing.
Her partners undoubtedly found her _distraite_; her attention vacillated
from one side of the ballroom to the other, as she searched for a
well-known, graceful figure and a small, sleek black head. All the time,
too, she was fearful of seeing a square-jawed face that kept recurring
to her memory as she had last seen it that afternoon--distorted, with
mouth open, and eyes protruding from their sockets. Vivid pictures of
the terrible incident flashed before her as she tried to listen to her
partners; now she was swept with horror and revulsion, and again she
felt a strange thrill at thought of the steely strength of Giovanni's
arms, as he had half carried her down the stairway. But she looked in
vain for her protector--neither he nor the duke appeared.
"What is it, Signorina?" Prince Allegro's voice broke jarringly upon her
recollections. "I am afraid I dance too fast!"
Nina recovered herself with a start. "Oh, no! But I feel--a little
tired; I wish we might sit down.
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