Not having received the expected communication--either while Will was in his company on the Anapo, nor in the hours which elapsed in the interval--at sunset, the Prince, with two gentlemen of his acquaintance, rowed out in a private _barca_ to the _Vanguard_, there to demand to see Will. Now Will, as it chanced, was the officer on watch, so they found their man easily. "You will understand why I have come," said the Prince, adding a great many roundabout and studiedly ceremonious phrases. "Not I," said Will, with equally studied carelessness, having noticed something in the Prince's manner. I was present, and had some inkling that a storm was brewing; though otherwise I knew nothing of what it was about, until I had it from Will afterwards. "Last night you did my sister, the Princess of Favara, the honour of paying her your addresses in the recognised Sicilian fashion of appealing to the lady herself in the first instance, to know if your attentions would be acceptable. I may tell you that the ladies of a house like ours, if our possessions are diminished, do not make their decision in so brief a period--though this is nothing unusual for people of no family. But though courtships in Sicily are not of long duration, as far as the lady's decision to accept or reject the addresses is concerned, the accepted suitor goes immediately to the father or guardian, states that he has the lady's consent, gives an account of his position and property, and, if everything is satisfactory, arrangements are then made. You have not done this. As you did my sister the honour of offering her your attentions, and as she did you the honour of accepting them, I have come here to know why you have not called upon me." As Will maintained an air of indifference and silence, the Prince went on to say: "I should have mentioned that there are two circumstances which made my sister accept the suit of a stranger upon so brief an acquaintance. She was aware that your ship will sail as soon as the wind springs up, and it was in defiance of the prophecy that the last of our house will come to an evil end by reason of love for a fair-haired stranger from the north. It is the motto of our family that we fear neither man nor fate, and it has been our pride to live up to our motto. It seemed to both my sister and myself that you were the man indicated by the prophecy, and it was our duty to defy it. When you came below her window last night, she consulted me as to whether you were the man indicated, and as it seemed to us both that you were, she accepted you."