"How can I find Sassi?" asked Malipieri, interrupting the question.
"Who is he?"

"He was our agent. Is he gone? The old porter will know where to find
him. I think he lived near the palace. But perhaps the porter has been
sent away too."

"He is still there. Have you been made to sign any papers since you
have been here?"

"No."

"Will you promise me something?"

Sabina could not understand how it was that a man who had been a
stranger two hours earlier was speaking to her almost as if he were an
intimate friend, still less why she no longer felt that she ought to
check him and assert her dignity.

"If it is right, I will promise it," she answered quietly, and looking
down.

"It is right," he said. "If the Senator, or any one else asks you to
sign a paper, will you promise to consult me before doing so?"

"But I hardly know you!" she laughed, a little shyly.

"It is of no use to waste time and trouble on social conventions,"
said Malipieri. "If you do not trust me, can you trust this Sassi?"