He went with her and touched the electric bell. As they waited for a moment he added:
“I should like to have an evening quietly on the island.”
“Come to-night, or whenever you like. Don’t fix a time. Come when the inclination whispers—‘I want to be with friends.’”
He pressed her hand.
“Shall I see Peppina?”
“Chi lo sa?”
“And Ruffo?”
She laughed.
“The Marchesino, too, perhaps.”
“No,” said Artois, emphatically. “Disfigured girls and fisher-boys—as many as you like, but not the alta aristocrazia Napoletana.”