"No! no! no!" she sobbed, throwing herself on the pillow, "I will not bear it! I'll say to him, 'Do you see what I'm becoming? Do you see what you're making me? To-day a soiling of the face, to-morrow soiling of the soul! I will go away—I will go away—away! I will go back home. You are nothing to me!' Yes, I will tell him the moment he comes in!"
When he came in he found her seated quietly at the table, busy with the list of purchases for the following day. It was late, the lamps were lit, the table was laid, the servant was preparing supper. The whole of the little dwelling was pervaded by the contemptible yet merry hissing of the frying-pan and the smell of fried artichokes. From the window, open towards the garden, penetrated the contrasting fragrance of laurels and of grass.
| lire. cent. | |
| Milk | 0.20 |
| Bread | 0.20 |
| Wine | 1.10 |
| Meat | 1.00 |
| Flour | 0.50 |
| Eggs | 0.50 |
| Salad | 0.05 |
| Butter | 0.60 |
| Asparagus | 0.50 |
| —— | |
| L. 4.65 |
Antonio came over to the table, bent down, and looked at the paper on which Regina was writing.
"I was here at six, and couldn't find you," he said.
"I was out."
"Listen. The Princess sent a note to the office asking me to go to her at half-past six; so I went."
"What did she want?"
"Well—she's beginning to be a nuisance, you know—she wants me to keep an eye on the man who speculates for her on the Stock Exchange."
Regina looked up and saw that Antonio's face was pale and damp.