‘I was surprised you didn’t come earlier. Not prying, mind. But we could have had ourselves a roaring night out or two. There’s a new house of assignation on Stockton Street, and I hear you can do whatever you care to do with three young beauties, all under the age of fifteen, all night, for less than the price of an oyster supper.’

Collis went to the window. It had a fan-shaped arch to it, and looked eastwards over towards Market Street and the Bay. The topmasts of clippers and schooners glided behind the foggy rooftops on silent errands of trade.

‘I met Hannah,’ he said.

Andy’s face changed at once. He looked cautious, and a little unhappy. ‘Ah,’ he said.

‘You sound as if you knew about her, too.’

‘Well … Montgomery Street isn’t far. My feet do direct themselves past the West emporium from time to time.’

‘So you’ve seen that she’s back with her husband?’

Andy nodded sympathetically. ‘Back, and settled, by the looks of it. As a matter of fact, I did meet them on the street, her husband and her, and I did chew the fat for a minute or two. They were arm in arm, you know, as though they were very contented; although I must say that Hannah still appeared to be pretty sick.’

‘She is,’ said Collis.

Andy scratched the back of his neck. ‘Maybe that’s it, then,’ he said. ‘Maybe she went back to get herself nursed to rights by someone who wasn’t going to give her too much bother.’

‘She wasn’t going to be bothered by me,’ Collis told him. ‘I could have cared for her just as well as Walter West. Didn’t I care for her in Panama, when nobody else would?’

‘Well, sure, you did that,’ said Andy. ‘But have you thought she may not want to start courting right now, because she don’t feel her best? A woman likes to feel her best, you know, when she’s out to win the man she fancies most. Maybe she wants to get better first; and then, when she’s better, get in touch, and try again.’

Collis came away from the window and looked at Andy glumly. ‘I don’t think so. Not from what she told me this morning. It’s a pretty idea. But I really believe I’ve lost her for good.’

‘And is that so tragic?’

Collis shrugged. ‘It depends what you mean by tragic. She doesn’t seem to think it’s tragic at all.’

Andy looked at Collis carefully. ‘I’ll bet you dinner at Delmonico’s she does.’

‘Then why did she say she didn’t love me?’

‘Because all women say that, when they’re really smitten. It’s their way of testing a fellow out. They may be deeper in love than a bug in a rug; but they want to know what you feel. And that’s why they’ll say that they never want to see you again, and all of that stuff, just to see what you’ll do next.’