Page:Her Roman Lover (Frothingham, 1911).djvu/157



O it happened that at the very moment when Anne admitted to herself that she loved Gino Curatulo, she was forced into the realization of a strange and, to her, an ignoble aspect of him. To have suspected her so quickly after his recognition of her feeling, and to act without reason or trust—were these things worthy of a man she loved? But she remembered the moments of her own lack of confidence. What had she shown of trust on the day when Gino had walked with another woman under the Roman wall? And she drew this memory to her joyously, for it relieved her of the pain she felt in condemning him as less worthy than herself.

When they reached the portone of their palace it was already dusk, and she could scarcely see his features as he helped her from the car; but she felt that his mood had changed. Though he might still be bitter and angry, she was conscious of his suffering, and she almost smiled because the pain was so uncalled-for and she was so sure of her power to comfort it.