" "How did she acquire them?"
"She was a big girl, six years old, and tall for her age, when her parents
settled down in England. She first spoke Italian, and picked up Italian
ways from her nurse, an old party who was devotedly attached to her. Even
Alan was a good Italian linguist, and given to foreign manners when a
little chap. But Harrow soon knocked them out of him. Rita retained them."
"I see. A curious household. I should have expected this young lady to
upbraid her brother after the style of the prima donna in grand opera."
"No. He told me she laughed at him, and invited him to witness the trying
on of a fancy dress costume, the 'Queen of Night,' which she wore at a
_bal masque_ the night he was murdered."
"When did she get married?"
"Last January, at Naples, very suddenly, and without the knowledge of any
of her relatives."
"She had been living at Beechcroft nearly a year, then?"
"Yes, she went South in the winter. The reason she gave was that the Hall
would be depressing on the anniversary of her brother's death. She had
become most popular in the district. Helen is very fond of her, and was
quite shocked to hear of her marriage. The local people do not like Signor
Capella."
"Why?"
"It is difficult to give a reason. Miss Layton does not indulge in
details, but that is the impression I gather from her letters.
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