CHAPTER 10, part 2

"I may be wrong," said Lucia. "No doubt I am wrong. But I should have thought that she might have spared half-an-hour out of these days by returning my call. However, she thought not." Peppino suddenly recollected a thrilling piece of news which most unaccountably he had forgotten to tell Lucia.

"Dear me, something slipped my memory," he said. "I met Mrs Weston yesterday afternoon, who told me that half an hour ago Miss Bracely had seen her in her bath-chair and had taken the handles from Tommy Luton, and pushed her twice round the green, positively running." "That does not seem to me of very prime importance," said Lucia, though she was thrilled to the marrow. "I do not wonder it slipped your memory, _caro_." "_Carissima_, wait a minute. That is not all. She told Mrs Weston that she would have returned her call, but that she hadn't got any calling cards." "Impossible!" cried Lucia. "They could have printed them at 'Ye olde Booke Shop' in an afternoon." "That may be so, indeed, if you say so, it is," said Peppino. "Anyhow she said she hadn't got any calling cards, and I don't see why she should lie about it." "No, it is not the confession one would be likely to make," said she, "unless it was true. Or even if it was," she added. "Anyhow it explains why she has not been here," said Peppino. "She would naturally like to do everything in order, when she called on you, _carissima_. It would have been embarrassing if you were out, and she could not hand in her card." "And about Mr Shuttleworth?" asked she in an absent voice, as if she had no real interest in her question.

"He has not been seen yet at all, as far as I can gather." "Then shall we have no host, if we drop in tomorrow night?" "Let us go and see, _cara_," said he gaily.