At first she was so much surprised that she could hardly
speak.
"I--I do not know," she stammered.
She had never received letters from any one but her own family or her
school friends, and a very faint colour rose in her pale cheek.
Malipieri looked more bored and weary than ever.
"It may be absolutely necessary for me to write to you before long,"
he said. "Shall I write by post?"
Sabina hesitated.
"Is there no one in all Rome whom you can trust to bring a note and
give it to you when you are alone?"
"There is Signor Sassi," Sabina answered almost instinctively. "But
really, why should you--"
"How can I find Sassi?" asked Malipieri, interrupting the question.
"Who is he?"
"He was our agent. Is he gone? The old porter will know where to find
him. I think he lived near the palace. But perhaps the porter has been
sent away too."
"He is still there. Have you been made to sign any papers since you
have been here?"
"No."
"Will you promise me something?"
Sabina could not understand how it was that a man who had been a
stranger two hours earlier was speaking to her almost as if he were an
intimate friend, still less why she no longer felt that she ought to
check him and assert her dignity.
"If it is right, I will promise it," she answered quietly, and looking
down.
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