He took a bundle of notes out of his pocket and put them in Cristina’s hand. “I’m very poor just now! But you must see that we have a good dinner to-night. And buy a pretty bouquet for Mademoiselle!”
Cristina smiled more joyously than Lily had ever seen her smile, as she nodded her head wisely.
When she had gone: “I wish mamma was more like Cristina!” he exclaimed, with a funny kind of look. Lily could not help smiling. There was certainly something attractive about Beppo Polda!
The hour that followed seemed to go by very quickly—more quickly than any hour the girl had spent since her arrival at Monte Carlo.
The young Count had plenty to say for himself; also he managed to convey how much he admired her—Lily. At once he had claimed relationship. Soon he called her “my pretty cousin,” and instructed her to call him “Beppo.” He also told her, which amused her, that he and his mother always talked English when they were “talking secrets.” “We shan’t be able to do that now,” he said, laughing.
Perhaps one reason why Lily liked Beppo so much was that he was such a pleasant surprise! Somehow, while looking forward to seeing him, she had felt sure he would be a disagreeable, supercilious young man. She was astonished to find how quickly she felt at ease with him. More than once during that first hour of their acquaintance the thought of Angus Stuart flashed into her mind. How would those two get on, she wondered—perhaps not so badly, after all?
Beppo, in spite of his appearance, was more like a child than a man, so Lily decided within herself. He had a happy child’s self-confidence and belief that everyone was going to be kind to him. But he was like a spoilt child; though that, she decided, was his mother’s fault.
Just as she was thinking this, they heard the sound of wheels on the little clearing below. Lily got up from her wicker chair and, to her surprise, Beppo took her hand as if to help her, and then kept her hand within his and looked down ardently into her eyes. With a sensation of surprise, she told herself that he was not a child at all, but a very determined man! There was a look on his face which made her feel suddenly uncomfortable.
She freed her hand from his rather quickly, and he said: “Forgive me! But I cannot help remembering that we shall not be alone together again for a long time. Do you realise, Cousin Lily, that we have been alone—quite alone—up here, in this lonely place, for sixty full minutes?”
“Of course I do,” she answered, blushing a little. “But I never thought about it.”