Before the hour at which we usually stopped work I arose from my chair,
and stated that that would be all for the day. My secretary looked at me
quickly.
"All for to-day?" she asked, a little smile of disapprobation upon her
brow. "It cannot be twelve o'clock yet."
"No," I answered, "it is not; but it is not easy to work out the answer
which Lucilla ought now to make to Tomaso, and I shall have to take time
for its consideration."
"I shouldn't think it would be easy," said she, "but I hoped you had it
already in your mind."
"Then you are interested in it?" I asked.
"Of course I am," she answered,--"who wouldn't be? And just at this
point, too, when everything depends on what she says; but it is quite
right for you to be very careful about what you make her say," and she
gathered her sheets together to lay them away.
Now I wanted to say something to her. I stopped work for that purpose,
but I did not know what to say. An apology for my conduct of the day
before would not be exactly in order, and an explanation of it would be
exceedingly difficult. I walked up and down my study, and she continued
to arrange her pages. When she had put them into a compact and very neat
little pile, she opened the table drawer, placed them in it, examined
some other contents of the drawer, and finally closed it, and sat
looking out of the window.
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