The notary's brother and son, notaries themselves, were named as
guardians. The income was to be paid to Sabina at once, the capital on
her marriage. The newspaper paragraph recalled the ruin of the great
family, and spoke of the will as a rare instance of devotion in an old
and trusted servant.
Sabina and the Princess learned the news at dinner that evening from a
young attache of the Embassy who always read the _Italie_ because it
is published in French, and he had not yet learned Italian. He
laughingly congratulated Sabina on her accession to a vast fortune. To
every one's amazement, Sabina's eyes filled with tears, though even
her own mother had scarcely ever seen her cry. She tried hard to
control herself, pressed her lids hastily with her fingers, bit her
lips till they almost bled, and then, as the drops rolled down her
cheeks in spite of all she could do, she left the table with a broken
word of excuse.
"She is nothing but a child, still," the Princess explained in a tone
of rather condescending pity.
The young attache was sorry for having laughed when he told the story.
He had not supposed that Donna Sabina knew much about the old agent,
and after dinner he apologized to his ambassador for his lack of tact.
"That little girl has a heart of gold," answered the wise old man of
the world.
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