. .
But she must tell Giovanni--she must tell him at once, decidedly and
finally, "No."
Sadly, regretfully, she crossed the room again, her hand slipped through
the great Dane's collar as though to gain encouragement from his
presence. In the antechamber of the room where Giovanni lay, she stopped
and kissed St. Anthony's head--as though the dog in turn might help
Giovanni to understand that she was not in truth as heartless as she
seemed.
The stone floors were covered with thick rugs, the hangings were heavy,
and her light footfall made no sound. Without warning she parted the
_portieres_, took one step across the threshold, and halted,
stunned--the Contessa Potensi was kneeling beside Giovanni's couch, and
the sound of Giovanni's voice came distinctly, saying, "For her? But no!
But because she is of the household of the Sansevero." And then with an
ardor that made the tones which he had used to her sound flat and
shallow by comparison, she heard him say, "_Carissima_, I swear I shall
never love another as I love you."
The _portieres_ fell together, and Nina fled. Two or three times she
lost her way in the endless turnings of the palace before she finally
reached her own room. Once there, she wrote the shortest note
imaginable, declining in terse and positive terms Giovanni's offer of
marriage.
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