The man jerked his head, cracked his whip, pulled at his horse’s mouth. They shot forward at a tremendous pace, keeping close by the sea at first, then turning to the left up the hill towards the Piazza del Plebiscito. The Marchesino crossed his legs, folded his arms, and instinctively assumed the devil-may-care look characteristic of the young Neapolitan when driving through his city.
“Emilio,” he said, after a moment, looking at Artois out of the corners of his eyes without moving his head, “when I was at the island the other day, do you know whom I saw in the house?”
“No.”
“A girl of the town. A bad girl. You understand?”
“Do you mean a girl with a wounded cheek?”
“Yes. How can the Signora have her there?”
“The Signora knows all about her,” said Artois, dryly.
“She thinks so!”
“What do you mean?”
“If the Signora really knew, could she take such a girl to live with the Signorina?”