“Gino’s friends are ours—­”

“Friends?” cried Gino.  “A relative!  A brother!  Fra Filippo, who has come all the way from England and never written.”

“I left a message.”

The audience began to hiss.

“Come in to us.”

“Thank you—­ladies—­there is not time—­”

The next moment he was swinging by his arms.  The moment after he shot over the balustrade into the box.  Then the conductor, seeing that the incident was over, raised his baton.  The house was hushed, and Lucia di Lammermoor resumed her song of madness and death.

Philip had whispered introductions to the pleasant people who had pulled him in—­tradesmen’s sons perhaps they were, or medical students, or solicitors’ clerks, or sons of other dentists.  There is no knowing who is who in Italy.  The guest of the evening was a private soldier.  He shared the honour now with Philip.  The two had to stand side by side in the front, and exchange compliments, whilst Gino presided, courteous, but delightfully familiar.  Philip would have a spasm of horror at the muddle he had made.  But the spasm would pass, and again he would be enchanted by the kind, cheerful voices, the laughter that was never vapid, and the light caress of the arm across his back.

He could not get away till the play was nearly finished, and Edgardo was singing amongst the tombs of ancestors.  His new friends hoped to see him at the Garibaldi tomorrow evening.  He promised; then he remembered that if they kept to Harriet’s plan he would have left Monteriano.  “At ten o’clock, then,” he said to Gino.  “I want to speak to you alone.  At ten.”

“Certainly!” laughed the other.

Miss Abbott was sitting up for him when he got back.  Harriet, it seemed, had gone straight to bed.

“That was he, wasn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, rather.”

“I suppose you didn’t settle anything?”

“Why, no; how could I?  The fact is—­well, I got taken by surprise, but after all, what does it matter?  There’s no earthly reason why we shouldn’t do the business pleasantly.  He’s a perfectly charming person, and so are his friends.  I’m his friend now—­his long-lost brother.  What’s the harm?  I tell you, Miss Abbott, it’s one thing for England and another for Italy.  There we plan and get on high moral horses.  Here we find what asses we are, for things go off quite easily, all by themselves.  My hat, what a night!  Did you ever see a really purple sky and really silver stars before?  Well, as I was saying, it’s absurd to worry; he’s not a porky father.  He wants that baby as little as I do.  He’s been ragging my dear mother—­just as he ragged me eighteen months ago, and I’ve forgiven him.  Oh, but he has a sense of humour!”

Miss Abbott, too, had a wonderful evening, nor did she ever remember such stars or such a sky.  Her head, too, was full of music, and that night when she opened the window her room was filled with warm, sweet air.  She was bathed in beauty within and without; she could not go to bed for happiness.  Had she ever been so happy before?  Yes, once before, and here, a night in March, the night Gino and Lilia had told her of their love—­the night whose evil she had come now to undo.