Cara is a middle-aged Italian woman and Lord Marchmain’s mistress, for whom he left Lady Marchmain and his children. When Charles meets Cara in Venice, when he and Sebastian go to stay with Lord Marchmain, Charles is surprised to find that Cara is a respectable, mature, and kindly woman: not at all the wanton temptress he has imagined. Cara is perfectly realistic about her situation with Lord Marchmain. She accepts that she will never be his wife, because Lady Marchmain will not get a divorce, and, although she is a Catholic, seems to have made her peace with the idea that, by living with a married man, she is “living in sin.” Cara understands that Lord Marchmain does not love her (she says that he used up all his love on Lady Marchmain, who he loved passionately and now despises because their relationship did not work out) and is happy to be his companion. She feels sorry for Lady Marchmain, who she feels has been “loved in the wrong way,” but does not feel guilty about her own role in the breakdown of the relationship. Cara is kind to Charles and Sebastian during their stay, but hints that she disapproves of their relationship. She subtly warns Charles that his attachment to Sebastian should not “go on too long.” This suggests that Cara disapproves of homosexual relationships—she believes that it is alright for men to have romantic or platonic relationships, but not for them to have sexual ones or to share their lives with other men. Cara also warns Charles about Sebastian’s drinking and tells him that she recognizes the signs of alcoholism in him because she has seen them in Lord Marchmain. It is implied that Cara has saved Lord Marchmain from his self-destructive tendencies, and that Sebastian needs someone to do the same for him.