"What?" he asked.
"Even if I were willing to do it--" she hesitated again.
"You are not afraid, are you?" There was a slight intonation of irony
in his question.
"No, I am not afraid." She paused a moment. "I suppose that if I saw a
way of coming, I would come," she said, then. "But I see no way. I
cannot go out alone. Every one would know it. There would be a
terrible fuss about it!"
The idea evidently amused her.
"Could you come with Sassi?" asked Malipieri presently. "He is
respectable enough for anything."
"Even that would be thought very strange," answered Sabina. "I have no
good reason to give for going out alone with him."
"You would not give any reason till afterwards, and when it is over
there cannot really be anything to be said about it. The Baroness goes
out every afternoon. You can make an excuse for staying at home to-
morrow, and then you will be alone in the house. Sassi will call for
you in a closed cab and bring you to the palace, and I will be at the
door to receive you. The chances are that you will be at home again
before the Baroness comes in, and she will never know that you have
been out. Does that look very hard?"
"No, it looks easy."
"What time shall Sassi call for you to-morrow?" asked Malipieri, who
wished to settle the matter at once.
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