He, too, had caught the name, though he was not listening in the least to Ugo's chatter; and as he met Corona's eyes he moved uneasily, as much as to say he wished the fellow would stop talking.

A moment later Del Ferice rose from his seat; he had seen Donna Tullia passing near, and thought the opportunity favourable for obtaining an invitation to join the party on the drag.
With a murmured excuse which Corona did not hear, he went in pursuit of his game.
"I thought he was never going," said Giovanni, moodily.

He was not in the habit of posing as the rival of any one who happened to be talking to the Duchessa.

He had never said anything of the kind before, and Corona experienced a new sensation, not altogether unpleasant.

She looked at him in some surprise.
"Do you not like Del Ferice ?" she inquired, gravely.
"Do you like him yourself ?" he asked in reply.
"What a question! Why should I like or dislike any one ?" There was perhaps the smallest shade of bitterness in her voice as she asked the question she had so often asked herself.