As soon as the
last verse of the serenade had been sung, with its recurring refrain--
"Appear, my sweet, and shame the skies,
That have no splendor
That have no splendor like thine eyes"--
Nina--that is, Grace Mainwaring--carefully opened the casement at which
she was supposed to be standing. A flood of moonlight--lime-light,
rather--fell on her; but Lionel could not see how she looked the part,
because her back was towards him. Very timidly Grace Mainwaring glanced
this way and that, to make sure that no one could observe her; she took
a rose from her hair, kissed it, and dropped it to her enraptured lover
below. It was the end of the act. She had to come down quickly from the
platform for the recall that resounded through the theatre; she did not
chance to notice Lionel; she was led on and across the stage by Harry
Thornhill, she bowing repeatedly and gracefully, he reserving his
acknowledgment until he had handed her off. The reception both of them
got was most gratifying; there could be no doubt of the sincerity of the
applause of this crowded house.
"It seems to me I am not wanted here any more," Lionel said to himself.
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