Thus the marriage had not met with the approval of Serafina, who was very rigid, or of Onofrio's elder brother Pio, at that time merely a _Cameriere segreto_ of the Holy Father and a Canon of the Vatican basilica.

Only Ernesta kept up a regular intercourse with Onofrio, fond of him as she was by reason of his gaiety of disposition; and thus, later on, her favourite diversion was to go each week to the Villa Montefiori with her daughter Benedetta, there to spend the day.

And what a delightful day it always proved to Benedetta and Dario, she ten years old and he fifteen, what a fraternal loving day in that vast and almost abandoned garden with its parasol pines, its giant box-plants, and its clumps of evergreen oaks, amidst which one lost oneself as in a virgin forest.
The poor stifled soul of Ernesta was a soul of pain and passion.

Born with a mighty longing for life, she thirsted for the sun--for a free, happy, active existence in the full daylight.

She was noted for her large limpid eyes and the charming oval of her gentle face.