‘I crashed,’ I said.
‘You are a flier then?’
I nodded.
She smiled and there was a glint of amusement in her eyes. ‘You do not like to talk about it, eh?’ When I didn’t answer, she said, ‘Perhaps you do not realise what an advantage it gives you? I ‘How do you mean?’ I asked.
She gave a slight, impatient shrug of the shoulders. ‘I think you are perhaps quite an ordinary man. But because of that leg you become intriguing.’ She raised her glass.’ Alia sua salute!’
‘Alla sua, signora!’ I replied.
Her eyes were watching me as her lips opened to the rim of her glass. ‘Where are you staying in Milano?’
‘At the Excelsior,’ I answered.
She made a small face. ‘You must find some friends,’ she said. ‘It is not good at a hotel. You will drink too much and sleep with the chambermaid and that will not be good for your work. You drink a lot. Am I right?’ She smiled. ‘Is it to forget the leg?’
‘Do I look as dissipated as all that?’ I asked.