“No. And I was stupid. What would you like from that window?”
“I would like that small Negro with the ebony face and the turban made of chip diamonds with the small ruby on the crown of the turban. I should wear it as a pin. Everyone wore them in the old days in this city and the faces were those of their confidential servants. I have coveted this for a long time, but I wanted you to give it to me.”
“I’ll send it in the morning.”
“No. Give it to me when we have lunch before you go.”
“Right,” the Colonel said.
“Now we must walk or we will be too late for dinner.”
They started to walk, arm through arm, and as they went up the first bridge, the wind lashed at them.
When the twinge came, the Colonel said to himself, the hell with that.
“Richard,” the girl said. “Put your hand in your pocket to please me and feel them.”
The Colonel did.
“They feel wonderful,” he said.
