the force of his extraordinary vitality and superb physique,
but she was herself of too imperious and dominating a temperament not to
resist tacitly the stress of his somewhat overpowering personality. She
made herself perfectly charming, however.

"What a gorgeous old lady!" exclaimed Chesney, as they rushed home
again. "Amaldi must be a decent sort with a mater like that. Wish he'd
come back from his damned Milan. I want that yacht."

Amaldi returned in three days, and came for a formal call to Villa
Bianca. He had conquered the first well-nigh unbearable recoil from the
idea of Chesney's presence, and realised that certain civil forms were
obligatory, after the rather close relations that had grown up between
his mother and Sophy.

Chesney took one of his violent fancies to the young Lombard, on this
occasion. He had utterly forgotten the jealousy with which Amaldi had
once inspired him, when morphia ruled his moods.

He and Amaldi began talking boats and boating. Amaldi was afraid that
just then there was no such yacht as Chesney wished to hire on Lago
Maggiore. He might find one, however, he thought, at Costaguta's, in
Genoa. But Chesney didn't want to go such a long trip by rail. He looked
disgruntled and his big shoulders hunched with a boyish petulance,
rather engaging--had not his every gesture been salt on Amaldi's open
wound.

"I should be very glad if you would come with me in _The Wind-Flower_
whenever you like," said the latter. He had not once glanced towards
Sophy since he and her husband began their talk; but he saw, without
looking at her, the tall figure in its white serge gown, bending over
the masses of Michaelmas daisies that she had brought in from a walk,
and was arranging in one of the old apothecary jars from Intra.

It hurt Amaldi to look at Chesney as it hurts some people to look on
blood--gave him just that faint, gone feeling. The very fact that he was
so magnificent a man to look at hurt him that much more.

Chesney accepted this proposal about _The Wind-Flower_ with frank
alacrity.

"What d'you say to an all-day sail to-morrow?" he asked. "You're as keen
on sailing as I am, my wife tells me. If it's convenient...." he added;
then said quickly, laughing: "I must say, I've landed rather plump on
your offer, Marquis."

Amaldi murmured banal assurances of the pleasure that it would afford
him to sail all day with Mr. Chesney.

"Good!" Cecil exclaimed, much pleased. "And I say, sup