‘And what did his lordship talk to you about?’ asked Miss Pepperdine, who had sufficiently recovered from her surprise to resume her dinner. ‘I hope you said “my lord” and “your lordship” when you spoke to him?’ ‘No, I didn’t, because I didn’t know,’ said Lucian. ‘I said “sir,” because he was an old man. Oh, we talked about Italy--fancy, he hasn’t been in Italy for twenty years!--and he asked me a lot of questions about several things, and he got me to translate a letter for him which he had just received from a professor at Florence--his own Italian, he said, is getting rusty.’ ‘And could you do it?’ asked Miss Pepperdine. Lucian stared at her with wide-open eyes. ‘Why, yes,’ he answered. ‘It is my native tongue. I know much, much more Italian than English. Sometimes I cannot find the right word in English--it is a difficult language to learn.’ Lucian’s adventures of his first morning pleased Mr. Pepperdine greatly. He chuckled to himself as he smoked his after-dinner pipe--the notion of his nephew bearding the grim old earl in his tumble-down castle was vastly gratifying and amusing: it was also pleasing to find Lucian treated with such politeness. As the Earl of Simonstower’s tenant Mr. Pepperdine had much respect but little affection for his titled neighbour: the old gentleman was arbitrary and autocratic and totally deaf to whatever might be said to him about bad times. Mr. Pepperdine was glad to get some small change out of the earl through his nephew. ‘Did his lordship mention me or your aunties at all?’ he said, puffing at his pipe as they all sat round the parlour fire. ‘Yes,’ answered Lucian, ‘he spoke of you.’ ‘And what did he say like? Something sweet, no doubt,’ said Mr. Pepperdine. Lucian looked at Miss Judith and made no answer. ‘Out with it, lad!’ said Mr. Pepperdine. ‘It was only about Aunt Judith,’ answered Lucian. ‘He said she was a very pretty woman.’