“Hello,” De Medici remarked. “Sorry to disturb you.”
The old woman wheeled around. Her little black eyes blazed at the intruder.
“Get out ... get out!” she cried stridently, raising the heavy cane menacingly. She advanced toward him in a fury. De Medici retreated.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a moment,” he added calmly.
“Get out! Get out of my home,” screamed the old woman.
His hand caught the cane as it descended toward his head.
“Come now,” he smiled at her, “I’m not here for anything except to ask you a question. I saw you at the Ballau auction and followed you here. I was a friend of Mr. Ballau. I wanted to talk to you.”
The creature’s attitude changed. She looked at him in silence and lowered herself into one of the many chairs that crowded the dimly lighted place.
De Medici nodded gratefully.
“I followed you because you bought that candlestick,” he continued. “I wanted to ask you why you bought it.”