when you have to place a sofa for me, you may put it just contrariwise—­so, with the head at the side of the fireplace, and push the table a little further back so as to leave room for the easy-chair there to stand near the foot of the sofa facing the fire.  That will do.  Now, be sure of your man before you let him in.  The Marchese Lamberto, mind, an elderly gentleman—­not the Marchese Ludovico, who is a young man.  If he or anybody else should come before one o’clock tell them that I can see nobody till that time.  Now, don’t bring me the wrong man; and, Gigia, if he comes, don’t announce him, you know.  Just open the door quietly, and let him walk into the room without disturbing me—­ you understand?”

“A chi lo dite, Signora mia!  Lasciate fare a me!  Is it the first time?” said Gigia.

“If only one could hope that it would be the last,” returned her mistress with a half laugh, half sigh.

By the time all these arrangements were made it was nearly twelve o’clock; and Bianca, dismissing her maid, placed herself, not without some care in the arrangement of her delicate draperies, on the sofa.

The judicious Gigia had said that the extent of snowy bosom exposed was not too liberal, due consideration being had to the circumstance that the Diva was to be caught by an unexpected surprise in an undress.  So, as Bianca meant to be very much surprised, she carefully, and with dainty fingers, drew back the muslin on either side just a thought, so as to permit to an exploring eye merely such a suggestive peep of the swelling curves on either side as might furnish an estimate of the outline of the veiled heights beyond.  She smiled, half with pleased consciousness and half with self-mockery, as she did so:  then carefully arranged her drapery so as to allow two slim ankles to be visible just at the point where they crossed each other in a position which exhibited the curved instep of one slender foot in a full front view, and the side of the other negligently thrown across it.  The pose was artistically perfect.  Lastly, with one or two dexterous touches and shakes, she so arranged her wealth of hair as to combine an appearance of the most perfect negligee with a thoroughly artistic disposition of it, which, while it displayed to the best advantage the tresses themselves, served also to heighten the effect of the contours of neck and bust, which they partly showed and partly concealed.

And then the Diva waited patiently.

She had, as she had said to Gigia, no certain knowledge that he would come, nor even any very clear reason to believe that he would do so—­that he would come, that is to say, earlier than one o’clock, at which hour it had been arranged that he should meet Stadione there.  Nevertheless, Bianca had a strong persuasion that he would come earlier.  Despite what she had said to Quinto Lalli of the circumstances and signs which seemed to indicate that the Marchese was not a man likely to be exposed to danger from such