"That is all I know," Gouache answered, pointing to Maria Consuelo's portrait which stood finished upon an easel before him, set in an old frame. He had been touching it when Giovanni entered. "That is all I know, and I do not know that thoroughly. I wish I did. She is a wonderful subject."
Sant' Ilario gazed at the picture in silence.
"Are her eyes really like these?" he asked at length.
"Much finer."
"And her mouth?"
"Much larger," answered Gouache with a smile.
"She is bad," said Giovanni with conviction, and he thought of the Signor Aragno.
"Women are never bad," observed Gouache with a thoughtful air. "Some are less angelic than others. You need only tell them all so to assure yourself of the fact."
"I daresay. What is this person? French, Spanish—South American?"
"I have not the least idea. She is not French, at all events."