under his breath).

CHAPTER XVIII

A Night of Adventure

It will be seen from the events recorded in the last chapter that
Everard, while liking the various members of the Greville family, had
taken a great prejudice against Ernesto Trapani. The fact is that
Everard, brought up with all the insular pride of birth of an English
squire, had a poor opinion of foreigners, and was unwise enough
occasionally to reveal his attitude of British superiority, and to give
himself airs. Ernesto, handsome, clever, and with a long line of Italian
ancestry at his back, considered himself in every way a match for the
young Englishman, and would argue with him on many points, often beating
him by logic, though never convincing him. It annoyed Everard to see
Ernesto on terms of great intimacy with Carmel, and to hear them talk
together in Italian, a language of which, as yet, he knew only a few
sentences.

"I wish you'd speak decent English, instead of that beastly lingo!" he
said to her one day, petulantly.

Carmel flushed crimson.

"Please don't call Italian a beastly lingo! I'm sorry if I've been rude
in speaking it, but I sometimes forget that you don't understand what
we're saying. It comes naturally to me. I'll try to remember."

"Remember you're an Ingleton, and the owner of English property," urged
Everard. "Now you're at Casa Bianca I don't believe you ever give a
thought to the Chase!"

"Yes, I do! Oftener than you suppose. I've grown to love England more
than I believed possible. In summer the country was all green and
beautiful, while here every blade of grass gets burnt up by the blazing
sun. Oh, yes! I'm really very fond of the Chase! I am indeed!"

"Then, which do you like better--England or Sicily?"

But at that question Carmel shook her head.

"My opinions are my own, and I'm not going to tell them to anybody!" she
flashed merrily. "It's a good motto to enjoy yourself wherever you may
happen to be! That's all you'll get out of me, Mr. Everard! And quite
enough, too!"

Though Everard might have private reasons of his own that marred the
pleasure of his visit to Montalesso, his sisters were having the time of
their lives. Lilias, with the help of Mr. Stacey, had taken
enthusiastically to botany, and was making a collection of pressed
Sicilian flowers. She had also begun to sketch under his tuition, and
had finished quite a pretty little water color of the house. Dulcie,
always interested in country