Miss Ford hesitated a moment.
"No, Lilian is not here," she affirmed tranquilly.
"Ah, if only she were here, if only she were here!" he cried, hiding his face in his hands.
"Would you look for her, Signor Sabini? Would you see her? Would you speak with her?"
As one in a dream he looked at the Englishwoman: and at each question his face, contracted by his interior anguish, seemed discomposed.
"No," he replied in a slow, desolate voice. "No, I would not seek her out; I would not see her; I would not speak with her."
"Ah!"
"I must never see Lilian Temple again," he added, opening his arms desolately.
"Never again, Signor Sabini?"
"Never again."