Are there?"
"They used to use them to keep the wine in."
"Really. How exciting."
"Only, shrimps and things kept coming in, which was discouraging, and once a baby squid."
"It must have been."
"So Leo stopped it. It was supposed to be terribly health-giving, but there are limits."
"I'm sure there are," I said. "Shrimps in the wine would be one of them."
"Shrimps in the wine? What on earth are you talking about?"
I put down my empty cup. "I'm not quite sure. I thought it was the wine cellars."
"The seawater baths, idiot! Leo stopped them. Oh, I see, you're laughing at me. Well, go on, anyway.
You had a bath. But I still don't see how you got hot water; they can't have got the furnaces to work.
They used to burn about a ton of coal a day, and it practically needed three slaves to stoke all round the clock."
"Adoni and Spiro invented a geyser."
"Dear God," said Phyl devoutly, "does it work?"
"Yes, I told you, the water was marvellous. What's more, there were hot pipes to dry my things on, and an electric fire in the bedroom next door. Well, while my things dried I wore Sir Julian's dressing gown—which is why I left all your make-up in the pockets—and had coffee and bacon and eggs in the kitchen. Then Max Gale brought me home with the diamond, and that's the end of the saga." I leaned back and grinned at her. "As a matter of fact, it was rather fun."
"It sounds it! Was Max Gale civil?"
"Oh, yes. Very."
"I must say I'm surprised he helped you. I thought he was supposed to be trying to get rid of the dolphin."
"It can't have been Him after all. He helped me as soon as I asked him. And it wasn't his father, either, I'm certain of that. I think it must just have been some beastly local lad out for a bit of fun." I sat up and pushed back the coverlet. "I'd better get up."
My sister glanced at her wrist, and stood up with an exclamation. "Heavens, yes, I'll have to run if I'm to be ready."
"Where are you going?"
"To get my hair done, and I've got some shopping to do, so I thought I'd have lunch in town. I ought to have waked you before to ask if you'd like to come, but you looked so tired… There's cold meat and a fruit flan if you stay home, but you're welcome to come if you like. Can you make it? I'll have to leave in about twenty minutes."
I hesitated. "Did Godfrey expect me to ring him back or anything?"
"Oh, heavens, yes, I'd forgotten. He's pining to hear all about last night at first hand, I gather. I told him I'd be out to lunch, or I'd have asked him over, but I think he was going to ask you to lunch with him."
She paused, a hand on the door. "There's the phone now, that'll be him. What shall I tell him?"
I reached for my stockings, and sat down to pull them on. The action covered some rapid thinking.
Godfrey would obviously be very curious to know what had passed at the Castello last night—what Sir Julian had told us, and what Max's reactions had been. If I could put him off till tomorrow, I might use this curiosity to keep him out of Max's way.
I said, "Say I'm in the bathroom or something, and can't come to the phone now, and tell him I'm going out with you, and I don't know when I'll be in, but I'll ring him… No, he can ring me. Sometime tonight."
Phyl raised an eyebrow. "Hard to get, huh? All right. Then you are coming with me?"
"No, I'll never make it, thanks all the same. I'll laze around and go down to the beach later."
"Okay," said my sister amiably, and went to silence the telephone.
I had no intention of going down to the beach, as it happened, it being more than likely that Godfrey would see me there and come down. But I did want to go over to the Castello to find out if Max and Spiro had got safely away. I hesitated to use the party telephone, and in any case, I doubted if Sir Julian would want to talk to me this morning, but I had hopes of finding Adoni about in the garden, and of seeing him alone.
So I ate my cold luncheon early, and rather hurriedly, then, telling Miranda that I was going down to the beach for the afternoon, went to my room for my things.
But she was waiting for me in the hall as I came out, with a small package in her hand.
"For me?" I said. "What is it?"
"Adoni just brought it. It's some things you left there last night."
I took it from her. Through the paper I could feel the small hard shapes of Phyl's lipstick and powder box. "Oh, that's good of him. I was thinking I'd have to go across to collect them. Is he still here?"
"No. miss, he wouldn't stay. But I was to say to you that all was well."
There was just the faintest lift of curiosity in her voice. I noticed then how bright her eyes were, and that the flush was back in her cheeks, and for a moment I wondered if Adoni had given her some hint of the truth.
"I'm glad of that Did he tell you about the adventure we had last night?