And it was when they had eaten that and were drinking their coffee, in the making of which Paul excelled, that Sara suddenly exclaimed:
“Now I shall know what is in the letter.”
And then she had to tell Paul about the late Duca’s will and the letter. Paul listened.
“But, dearest,” he said, when she had ended, “do you realize what you are giving up? I am a poor man, and you will lose everything.”
But Sara replied in the words of Christopher:
“On the contrary, Paul, dear, I gain everything.”
And Paul took her hand and kissed it.
After that they talked about the future. No one was to be told of their happiness yet, except Christopher and Paul’s mother. They would keep it a secret known only to those four. In June Sara was going to Italy, when she would take her portrait and leave it in the gallery. In July she would return for Paul to claim her completely.
“But at least I shall know,” she ended, “that my portrait is in the gallery, and that I love the place ten thousand times more than those haughty ladies who will now, I suppose, look upon it as entirely their own.”
“And loving it like that you give it up?” said Paul.