He lit another cigarette. John was like a man sent from God. John was unreal. John had marched before him with a torch. Now that ghostly master of his had thrust the torch into the road, pointing him forward with a gesture. The way to perfection lay further on, along a path too narrow for two. Far up the path he could see Ottalie, a glimmer of fragrant beauty, half hidden in a whirling dust-storm which almost swept him off the ledge. The dust should not keep him from her. He would climb to her. They would go on together.
At this instant, as the melancholy intensity of the bells tolled the quarter-hour, the window-door opened on the other side of the straw trellis. A lady came out on to the balcony. She hummed one of Heine's songs in a little low voice, which left the music full of gaps. Roger recognised the singer's voice. He wondered if her husband were with her. He supposed that he must be at the House, and that she was waiting for him. Her skirts rustled as she moved. A faint scent of violet attracted Roger to her. It was faint, exotic, and suggestive. There is an intoxication in perfumes. She stood there for a full ten seconds before she divined his presence beyond the screen. Her song stopped instantly. Two seconds more convinced her that the person was male and alone. A third suggested that he was a burglar.
"Who is there?" she said quietly. Her voice was anxious rather than fearful.
"I'm so sorry," said Roger. He did not know what else to say. "I live here." He thought that it would be polite to go indoors. He turned to go. To his surprise she spoke again.
"Can you give me a cigarette?" she said. She still spoke quietly. She spoke as if a maidservant were in the room behind her. Roger was flustered. He was a man of quick blood in a condition of excited nerves.
"Yes," he said. "Will you have Russian, or American, or Turkish?"
She appeared to debate for an instant.
"Give me a Russian," she said. "Give it to me through this hole in the matting. Thanks."
"Have you a match?" Roger asked.
"No," she answered. "Give me a light from yours, please. Don't set the mat on fire, though."