"Do not be alarmed, signor. Nothing has happened. The pains are easier. Come and see her."
I entered, and my eyes immediately sought Juliana.
She was supported by pillows, pale as her night-dress, almost lifeless. Her eyes at once met mine, because they were turned toward the door, in the expectation of my coming. Her eyes appeared larger, deeper, hollower, surrounded by a wider, dark shadow.
"You see," she said in an exhausted voice, "it is still the same."
Her gaze did not leave me. Her eyes spoke, like those of the Princess Lisa: "I hoped you would help me; but you do not help me, either."
"Where is the doctor?" I asked my mother, who seemed sad and preoccupied.
She pointed to a door. I opened it, and passed through. I saw the doctor near a table busy with his preparations.
"Well," I asked him abruptly, "how is it?"
"Nothing serious so far."
"And all these preparations?"