Then he gave up trying to say it and rushed out to buy the clothes. I laid out my note-books and tried to work. Half an hour later she appeared in the doorway, sleepy-eyed, arrayed in a suit of Norman's pajamas.
"Where's he gone?" she yawned.
"He had to go out for a few minutes."—I did not tell her why, as I thought he might enjoy surprising her with the new outfit. "He'll be back pretty soon. If you ring the bell, Guiseppe will bring you some breakfast."
"Where's the bell?" she asked, looking on the table.
"It's on the wall. Press the button."
"Oh, it's a door be-e-e-l-l." It ended in a yawn.
"If you wash your face, you may wake up enough to be hungry."
"Aw! Go to hell."
She thumbed her nose at me and departed. She had evidently entirely forgotten the dream which had brought the smile to her lips and troubled Norman. When Guiseppe brought in her breakfast, she came back and sat down. She had no greeting for me and I, thinking of nothing worth saying, went on with my writing. When there was nothing more to eat she began to talk with Guiseppe in rapid Italian. After a while he turned to me.
"It's very sad, Mr. Arnold. She comes from the same district in Lombardy where I was born."