"Si, signora! The padrone has not come back. He is not here."
The boy's voice sounded angry, Hermione thought. It startled her. And the way he looked at her startled her too.
"You have looked in the house? Maurice!" she called. "Maurice!"
"I say the padrone is not here, signora!"
Never before had Gaspare spoken to Hermione like this, in a tone almost that she ought to have resented. She did not resent it, but it filled her with a creeping uneasiness.
"What time is it? Nearly half-past nine. He ought to be here by now."
The boy nodded, keeping his flaming eyes on her.
"I said nine to give him lots of time to get cool, and change his clothes, and—it's very odd."
"I will go down to the sea, signora. A rivederci."
He swung round to go, but Hermione caught his arm.