Page:Her Roman Lover (Frothingham, 1911).djvu/65

 Englishwoman went off on the arm of the Spanish Ambassador.

In the distance Anne could see Gino Curatulo, who had just come in, and been taken possession of by a woman who seemed determined not to let him go. He was facing Anne and looking at her so persistently that she felt sure of his seeking her as soon as it was decently possible for him to do so. She had no intention of giving up seeing him as much as she chose, even if by doing so she should cause him to fall in love with her, for she could not bring herself to regard the love of an Italian as a matter that would injure him seriously, and in spite of her friend’s warning she did not see how it could injure her.

A distinguished Russian occupied her attention while she waited for Gino. The stranger was a brilliant talker who had traveled much, and penetrated to little known and uncomfortable regions in search of worshipers and shrines of strange gods. He was especially attached to the Sun-God, who had his devotees to this day, as he explained to Anne, and always would have, so long as there was light and life—which were the same things—on this planet. The Russian talked fluently and eagerly, and the girl was a sympathetic listener. She did not wonder at his enthusiasm for the Sun-God,