or would the king avoid all contact with Vivaldi, knowing he had
witnessed this shameful incident? Let him dance himself into the
ground first, thought Vivaldi; most people, including the king,
would soon have forgotten the whole thing. Meanwhile the pearl
still sat at his feet like one of the temptations. The priest pretended
not to look. Now and then he scratched his calf, glancing about
him shiftily to see if anyone was watching. He had already reckoned
how much the gemstone was worth and how much he could ask for
it. Nobody seemed to be watching him; they were all dancing,
talking, flirting, bragging and admiring one another. Might he
take a chance?
‘Got it!’ The female voice came out of nowhere and a hand
snatched up the pearl from his feet. ‘May I?’ asked the young lady,
and without waiting for a reply sank down beside him on the sofa.
His heart had missed at least two beats. Where on earth had she
appeared from, and had she guessed his intention? ‘What a shame,
isn’t it? Such a gorgeous string! I’ve found far from all of them, and
fear my mistress has seen the last of most of her pearls.’ Looking at
her, Vivaldi was surprised to find something familiar in her face,
although he could not quite place it. She had wavy, dark blond hair
and he thought the eyes behind her mask were blue. It was plain
from her accent that she was not from Venice. The moment she
began to speak he had become aware of a dimple in her cheek just
beneath her mask. Although she clearly did not belong to the
aristocracy, she was still a remarkable looking girl. She was sliding
the pearls protectively one by one into a blue velvet pouch. She has
beautiful long slender fingers, thought Vivaldi, perfect for playing
the violin. He kept on trying to think from where he knew her
features but her mask did not help matters. ‘What an evening,’ she
sighed. ‘What an evening indeed!’ he returned.
She sat upright, looked directly at him and asked, ‘Are you
all right?’ Vivaldi was still not certain whether or not she knew he
had wanted to appropriate the pearl. But he reassured himself that
he had nothing to worry about; he had not even touched the thing!
He transformed his expression into a smile and replied, ‘I could be
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