He glanced at the heavy clock between the lapis columns.
'An hour and a half.'
'Give me half an hour.'
'Do you want to stop me from going?'
'Could I stop you if I tried?'
'I should never listen to you.'
'Julian,' she said, 'I rarely boast, as you know, but I am wondering now how many people in Herakleion would abandon their dearest ideals for me? If you think my boast is empty—remember Paul.'
He paused for a moment, genuinely surprised by the point of view she presented to him.
'But I am different,' he said then, quite simply and with an air of finality.