midnight
The newcomer was clearly engrossed in captivating the Count , and the latter amply justified his nick-name by the cynical complaisance with which he cleared the way for Odo by responding to her advances . The tete-a-tete thus established , Miranda at once began to excuse herself for the means she had taken to attract Odo 's attention at the theatre . She had heard from the innkeeper that the Duke of Pianura 's cousin , the Cavaliere Valsecca , was expected that day in Vercelli ; and seeing in the Piazza a young gentleman in travelling-dress and French toupet , had at once guessed him to be the distinguished stranger from Turin . At the theatre she had been much amused by the air of apprehension with which Odo had appeared to seek , among the dowdy or vulgar inmates of the boxes , the sender of the mysterious billet ; and the contrast between the elegant gentleman in embroidered coat and gold-hilted sword , and the sleepy bewildered little boy of the midnight feast at Chivasso , had seized her with such comic effect that she could not resist a playful allusion to their former meeting . All this was set forth with so sprightly an air of mock-contrition that , had Odo felt the least resentment , it must instantly have vanished . He was , however , in the humour to be pleased by whatever took his mind off his own affairs , and none could be more skilled than Mirandolina in profiting by such a mood . He pressed her to tell him something of what had befallen her since they had met , but she replied by questioning him about his own experiences , and on learning that he had been called to Pianura on account of the heir 's ill-health she declared it was notorious that the little prince had not long to live , and that the Duke could not hope for another son .