And she looked so young, her eyes so full of sea and heaven!
On what errand had she come alone to this place? He determined that he
would know, and soon.
VII
Mary ordered coffee in the hall, because something of her delight in the
gay restaurant had been crushed out by Vanno's snub. She was no longer
at peace under his eyes, and wished to avoid meeting them again, so it
was pleasanter to go away. But even in the hall she could not forget
him, as she had forgotten him after Marseilles. When he too came out
from the restaurant, not long after, she saw him, though he was at a
distance, saw him without even turning her eyes; and she thought how
tall he was, and how much a man, although slender to the point of
leanness. He sat on a sofa in the hall, and ordered coffee. Mary knew,
though she did not look at him again, and interested herself instead in
other people.
All those who came from dinner, except the Prince, drank their coffee
and went out. Some went by the front door, taking the direction of the
Casino. Others disappeared into an unknown part of the hotel; and so
many chose this way, that Mary inquired of a passing waiter where they
were all going. "To the Casino, Mademoiselle, by the underground
passage, to avoid the night air," the servant answered.
To the Casino. Everybody was going to the Casino. It was time that Mary
should go to the Casino, too. She had brought down her new white cloak
with the swansdown collar, and asked a liveried man to put it aside for
her while she dined.
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