She threw herself on her bed, and tried to sleep--but that proved an
impossibility, and I will not undertake to continue her soliloquy,
during which she declared, more than a hundred times over, that Signor
della Rebbia had not been, was not, and never should be, anything to
her.
CHAPTER IX
Meanwhile Orso was riding along beside his sister. At first the speed at
which their horses moved prevented all conversation, but when the hills
grew so steep that they were obliged to go at a foot's pace, they
began to exchange a few words about the friends from whom they had just
parted. Colomba spoke with admiration of Miss Nevil's beauty, of her
golden hair, and charming ways. Then she asked whether the colonel
was really as rich as he appeared, and whether Miss Lydia was his only
child.
"She would be a good match," said she. "Her father seems to have a great
liking for you----"
And as Orso made no response, she added: "Our family was rich, in days
gone by. It is still one of the most respected in the island. All these
_signori_ about us are bastards. The only noble blood left is in the
families of the corporals, and as you know, Orso, your ancestors were
the chief corporals in the island.
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