I will
go with you as well. You won't be afraid?"

She laughed.

"Afraid?--no, no--what I can do I can do--there is no Pandiani to scold
me if they not satisfied--that is my own _beezness_--is it right?--oh, I
say to you, Leo, if you hear Pandiani when I refuse to go to Malta--you
think you know the Neapolitan deealet--dialect?--no, it is not good for
you to know all the wicked words of Naples--and he is old and
evil-tempered--it is no matter. But in this theatre there is no Pandiani
and his curses--"

"No, no, not curses, Nina," he said. "I see old Debernardi has taught
you some strange English. Of course the _maestro_ did not use curses to
his favorite pupil--oh, yes, you were, Nina, a great favorite, though he
was always grumbling and growling. However, remember this, Nina, you
must sing your best this evening, and impress them; and I shouldn't
wonder if Lehmann gave you exceptional terms."

"More _beezness_?" she said, with a smile that showed a gleam of her
pretty teeth; the sound of the word had tickled her ear, somehow; more
than once, as the cab rolled away down Kensingtonwards, he could hear
her repeat to herself--"_beezness!_ _beezness!_"

This young Italian lady seemed to produce a most favorable impression on
the little, pale-faced widow, who appeared to be very grateful to Lionel
Moore for having thought of her. The ground-floor sitting-room and
bedroom, she explained, were occupied by her sole lodger; the young lady
could have the choice of any of the apartments above. The young lady, as
it turned out, was startled beyond measure at the price she was asked to
pay (which, in truth, was quite moderate, for the rooms were good
rooms, in a good situation, and neatly furnished), and it was only on
Lionel's insisting on it that she consented to take the apartments on
the second floor.

"I beg you not miscomprehend," Nina said, somewhat earnestly, to the
little landlady (for was she not a friend of Leo's?). "The price is,
perhaps, not too large--it is to me that it is large--"

"Oh, that's all right, Nina," Lionel broke in; "that's all settled. You
see, Mrs. Grey, Miss Rossi has come over here to get an engagement in
comedy opera, or perhaps to sing at concerts; and if a manager calls to
see her on business, why, of course, she must be in decent rooms. You
can't go and live in a slum. Mrs. Grey knows what managers are, Nina;
you must take up a good position and hold your own; and--and, in fact,
Nina, whe