‘Ah yes! And this Englishman, what was he like?’
‘He was very tall and straight, like a soldier, and had a moustache quite light in colour, like straw.’
‘Ah yes. The English are so. And he left a letter?’
‘Yes, reverendo.’
‘A rose-coloured letter—?’
‘Yes,’ said the woman, looking at him with surprise.
‘And tell me what happened afterwards. I may perhaps be able to help you, my child, if you tell me all you know.’
‘And then, reverendo, the police brought back the Colonel who had been murdered in the streets—and I who had his Excellency’s dinner on the table waiting for him!’
‘And—’
‘And Sebastian ate the dinner, reverendo.’