And she flew to the door and called out her orders to the servant.
He regarded her in happy astonishment. In all her movements there was a rhythm of unconscious loveliness, such as he had rarely seen in any woman. With simple, unconscious elegance, her dress flowed about her taller figure, whose severe lines were softened by the womanly curves of her limbs. And all that belonged to him.
He could command this radiant young body and this radiant young soul.
All that was one hunger to be possessed by him.
"Bind her to yourself," cried his soul, "and build yourself a new happiness!"
Then she returned. She stopped a few paces from him, folded her hands under her chin, gazed at him wide-eyed and whispered: "There he is! There he is!"
He grew uncomfortable under this expense of passion.
"I should wager that I sit here with a foolish face," he thought.
"But now I'm going to be sensible," she went on, sitting down on a low stool that stood next to the sofa. "And while the tea is steeping you must tell me how things have gone with you all this long time. For it is a very long time since … Ah, a long time…."
It seemed to him that there was a reproach behind these words. He gave but a dry answer to her question, but threw the more warmth into his inquiries concerning her life.
She laughed and waved her hand.