“If Phidias were only alive——” he said.
“Phidias?”
“BUT YOU’VE BEEN STANDING IN THE WATER ALL THIS TIME! WHAT AM I THINKING OF!”
“A Greek friend of mine, dead some years. He would have loved to turn you into marble.”
She gave a little crowing laugh, delightful to hear. “I’d much rather stay alive.”
“You are right. Better be a Greek goddess alive, than one dead.”
She laughed again, “You’re—unusual.”
He bowed with another flourish. “Then, so are you.”
Their eyes met frankly. “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she said. “But you’ve been standing in the water all this time! What am I thinking of! Come up here.”