The
doctor's bulletins announce that their illustrious
patient is suffering from a malignant case of
fever which at the best will mean an illness of
many weeks."
But it was not until the next day that there was a paragraph to the
effect that the Marchese di Valdo had met with an accident. A passer-by
had seen him slip in front of his club, the Circolo d'Acacia. It seems
the wind carried his hat off suddenly, and, as he put his hand out to
catch it, he fell and broke his arm. Following this came several other
social items, and then the second day's bulletin about the Duke Scorpa,
saying that the gravity of his condition remained unchanged.
Nina quite refused to be moved to pity by the news of Scorpa's critical
state. Her only anxiety in connection with him was, what would they do
to Giovanni, in case Scorpa should die? For _how_ was Giovanni to be got
out of the country, when he was said to be delirious in bed! By day she
thought, and by night she dreamed, that they were going to cut off his
arm.
As the excitement was dying down, John Derby returned from Sicily. He
noticed that Nina looked nervous and ill, but she tried to convince him
that it was the result of late hours and dancing. Besides, he had no
opportunity of talking to her alone, for in consequence of his success,
all who were interested in Sicily or mines flocked to the Palazzo
Sansevero as soon as it became known that Derby was there.
Pages:
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300