She shrank away a little. 'I did not know. I think it could be managed.'
'Italia, Italia, I want to ask you about this work; you always know the right thing to advise one,' said Lucia in a hasty voice, looking up from her ironing.
But when Italia came to her she said nothing, only pushing back the girl's heavy hair, and giving her a little pat on the cheek. 'There, go away, go away, child. You are interrupting me. Go and talk to the nonna.'
The old woman was watching the fire, her eyes following its flickering motion like the eyes of a young child. She said in a quavering voice as Italia laid her hand on her shoulder, 'My knitting, Maria; have you brought me my knitting?'
'Grannie always calls Italia Maria,' observed the small Beppi in an explanatory manner to Dino. 'She says Maria do this, Maria do that, and all the while she's speaking to Italia.'
'It was my mother's name,' said Lucia, nodding her head. 'She's dead these twenty years, the saints have her soul! but the nonna doesn't remember.'
Italia was kneeling before the purblind old dame, picking up the dropped stitches in a coarse woollen stocking. 'Now it will do nicely, dear nonna,' she said in her clear grave voice; and the grandmother laid her trembling hand upon the girl's thick hair and stroked it; 'You were always a good child, Maria; always. Now Lucia there she never married, an' there's many a thing she doesn't understand,—many a thing,—many a thing.'
'Italia, will you fetch me the body of this dress? I left it in the other room on the table,' said Lucia suddenly. She waited till the girl had passed through the open door, then she hurriedly turned and looked at Dino: 'Go—go and help her find it!'
He went straight up to the girl and caught both her hands in his.
'My dear, my love, if there was anything I could do or say to comfort you. I would give my life—my life! to undo the harm that I have done to you, Italia.'