“I shall have the finest jewels in all Naples!” she laughed, delightedly. “How the women will envy me! But where are these treasures? May I see them now—immediately?”
“No, not quite immediately,” I replied, with a gentle derision that escaped her observation. “To-morrow night—our marriage night—you shall have them. And I must also fulfill a promise I made to you. You wish to see me for once without these,” and I touched my dark glasses—“is it not so?”
She raised her eyes, conveying into their lustrous depths an expression of melting tenderness.
“Yes,” she murmured; “I want to see you as you are!”
“I fear you will be disappointed,” I said, with some irony, “for my eyes are not pleasant to look at.”
“Never mind,” she returned, gayly. “I shall be satisfied if I see them just once, and we need not have much light in the room, as the light gives you pain. I would not be the cause of suffering to you—no, not for all the world!”
“You are very amiable,” I answered, “more so than I deserve. I hope I may prove worthy of your tenderness! But to return to the subject of the jewels. I wish you to see them for yourself and choose the best among them. Will you come with me to-morrow night? and I will show you where they are.”
She laughed sweetly.
“Are you a miser, Cesare?—and have you some secret hiding-place full of treasure like Aladdin?”
I smiled.