"Desert you?" O'Mally resumed his seat and carefully loosened the topmost buttons of his coat. "Of course we shall desert you. We are sane individuals, at any rate. I have no desire to see the inside of an Italian jail, not knowing how to get out. What under the sun possessed you? What excuse have you to offer for pushing us all into the lion's mouth? You could have easily denied all knowledge of the invitation, referred them to your princess, wherever she may be, and we could have cleared out in the morning, poor but honest. And now you've gone and done it!"
Hillard leaned against a cypress, staring at the stones.
"In Venice," said she, her voice gentle, "you accepted the chance readily enough. What has changed you?"
O'Mally flushed. What she said was true. "I was a fool in Venice," frankly.
"And you, Mr. Smith?" continued La Signorina, as with a lash.
But it was ineffectual. "I was a fool, too," admitted Smith. "In Venice it sounded like a good joke, but it looks different now." He sat down beside O'Mally.
"So much for gallantry! And you, Kitty?"
"I made a promise, and I'll keep it. But I think you are cruel and wicked."
"No nonsense, Kitty," interposed Merrihew. "I've some rights now. You will leave this villa to-night."
"I refuse," replied Kitty simply.