“If I had known who would be at La Solitude I should have come there straight,” Beppo answered.
And Angus Stuart again felt that hot, unreasonable rush of rage possess him. How dare this fellow talk in that intimate way to a girl of whom he had seen very much less than he, Stuart, had done? And why did Lily seem to enjoy those boldly turned compliments?
Captain Stuart told himself bitterly that women were all alike; also that he had made a mistake—that Lily was not the kind of a girl he had taken her to be. What would have been more easy than for her to snub Count Beppo? He remembered how she had snubbed dear old Hercules Popeau on their long journey from Paris, when the Frenchman, presuming on his age, had been perhaps a thought too familiar in his manner; and yet she allowed this—this bold brute to say what he liked to her!
“When I am at La Solitude,” went on Beppo in a low tone, “I shall be a good boy, and never come down to Monte Carlo! We will go up each morning to the golf club and have a round. In the afternoons I will take you drives among the mountains. I have already managed to hire a two-seater for a week.”
Lily felt a little startled by his eager, intimate tones; also she had caught a glimpse of Angus Stuart’s face.
“I shan’t be able to be idle all day long,” she said hurriedly. “I have asked the English chaplain here if he can’t find me something to do. I’ve already had a month of complete holiday, and somehow I find that idleness doesn’t suit me.”
Beppo Polda looked extremely surprised and, yes, displeased.
“What nonsense!” he exclaimed.
“Oh, but it isn’t nonsense.” Lily was speaking very decidedly now. “There’s a convalescent home for English soldiers near here, and I have already arranged to go there and help with some of the work. I’m quite looking forward to it!”
“Does mamma know of this foolish plan?” asked Beppo.