She did not know that Bosio had ever been there, but in
her thoughts of him she felt his presence, and turned, with a shiver
under her hair, to look behind her as she stood waiting before the
window, just where he had stood. The day was dark, and the room was all
dim and cold, with its stiff, ugly furniture and its bare, tiled floor.
The corners were shadowy, and her eyes searched in them uneasily, and
she would not turn her back upon them again and look out of the windows.
Then the door opened noiselessly, and Giuditta Astarita entered, in her
loose black silk gown, with her little bunch of charms against the evil
eye, hanging by a chain from a button hole.
The china blue eyes looked steadily at Matilde, out of the unhealthy
face, but the woman gave no sign to show that she knew who her visitor
was. Her hoarse voice pronounced the usual words: "You wish to consult
me?"
"You wrote to me. I am the Countess Macomer," answered Matilde, lifting
her veil, which was a thick one.
The expression in the woman's eyes did not change, but she still looked
steadily at Matilde for three or four seconds.
"Yes," she said. "I thought so. I am glad that you have come, for I have
suffered much on your account."
She looked as though she were suffering, Matilde thought. Then she placed
the chairs, made the countess sit down, and drew the curtains, just as
she had done for Bosio.
Then, in the dark, there was silence. It seemed to Matilde a long time,
and she grew nervous, and moved uneasily.
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