It required very keen attention to keep the run of either the captain's or the lieutenant's English.

A few days before she had laughed at what seemed to be a funny story, and had later learned that it was an announcement of the death of the lieutenant's grandmother.

Today she confined her answers to inarticulate murmurs which might be interpreted as either assents or negations as the case required.
Constance however was buoyantly at her ease; she loved nothing better than the excitement of a difficult situation.

As she bridged over pauses, and unobtrusively translated from the officer's English into real English, she at the same time kept a watchful eye on the water.

She had her own reasons for wishing to detain the callers until her father's return.
Presently she saw, across the lake, a yellow sailboat float out from the shadow of Monte Maggiore and head in a long tack toward Villa Rosa.