Tell Nina not to be frightened. She used not to be frightened.
Ask her to remember the afternoons when I had the broken ankle--she and
Sabetta Debernardi used to come nearly every day--and Sabetta brought
her zither--and Nina and I played dominoes. Maurice, you never heard
Nina sing to herself--just to herself, not thinking--and sometimes
Sabetta would play a _barcarola_--oh, there was one that Nina used to
sing sometimes--'_Da la parte de Castelo_--_ziraremo mio tesoro_--_mio
tesoro!_--_la passara el Bucintoro_--_per condur el Dose in mar'_--I
heard it last night again--but--but all stringed instruments--and the
sound of wind and waves--it was so strange and terrible--when I was
listening for Nina's voice. I think it was at Capri--along the
shores--but it was night-time--and I could not hear Nina because of the
wind and the waves. Oh, it was terrible, Maurice! The sea was roaring
all round the shores--and it was so black--only I thought if the water
were about to come up and drown me, it might--it might take me away
somewhere--I don't know where--perhaps to the place where Nina's ship
went down in the dark. Why did she go away, Maurice?--why did she go
away from us all?--the poor _cianciosella_!"
These rambling, wearied, broken utterances were suddenly arrested:
there was a tapping at the outer door--and Lionel turned frightened,
anxious eyes on his friend.
Pages:
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701