“I must go back, Signorina,” he protested.
“You want to sleep, too, perhaps?”
He seized the excuse.
“Si, Signorina. Being under the sea so much—it tires the head and the eyes. I want to sleep, too.”
His face, full of life, denied his words, but Vere only said:
“Here are the cigarettes.”
“Grazie, Signorina.”
“And I promised you another packet. Well, wait here—just here, d’you see?—under the bridge, and I’ll throw it down, and you must catch it.”
“Si, Signorina.”
He took his stand on the spot she pointed out, and she disappeared up the steps towards the house.