Adam's Breed

Sisto continued trying to be friendly because of Gian-Luca's wife. Lidia was friendly because of Gian-Luca; she liked Maddalena's tall, quiet husband; but even Lidia was not at ease with him, he struck her -- indeed, he seemed to strike them all -- as being a "forestiere."

The Englishman's home may well be his castle, but the home of the Latin is his fortress, and seldom may the stranger hope to penetrate beyond its outermost portal. Thus Gian-Luca, while sharing their family life, had a sense of being always just outside; they were never completely natural with him, he suspected a number of subtle reserves, and this made him stiff and shy in his turn, shy of asserting his claim.