And now Minnie showed much more animation than usual.

She was much agitated and excited by this sudden appearance of one whom she hoped to have got rid of, and talked rapidly, and laughed nervously, and was so terrified at the idea that Girasole was near that she was afraid to look at him, but directed all her attention to Hawbury.

It was a slight, and Girasole showed that he felt it; but Minnie could not help it.

After a time Girasole mastered his feelings, and began an animated conversation with Mrs.Willoughby in very broken English.

Girasole's excitement at Minnie's slight made him somewhat incoherent, his idioms were Italian rather than English, and his pronunciation was very bad; he also had a fashion of using an Italian word when he did not know the right English one, and so the consequence was that Mrs.Willoughby understood not much more than one-quarter of his remarks.
Mrs.Willoughby did not altogether enjoy this state of things, and so she determined to put an end to it by shortening her drive.