She urged silence with a press of her hand. “Don’t name it. Isn’t it better that it names itself?”

“You’re so lovely, it drives me mad.”

“I have no confidence in words, since I was originally an actress.”

“And a lady through and through.”

“Thank you, but you know most people have a low opinion of the art. For that reason I left my family. It’s just as well I have no brother or father.”

He thought for a moment, then said, “Certainly acting would be better than dancing at the Capri.”

“I didn’t have the proper devotion to it, and they said I had no talent. Dancing was my real love all along, so it was the Capri, and the rest followed, inevitably….”

He said with warmth, “But you have a heart of gold.”

“That I’ve never heard before.”

—

He commissioned a couple of men to work on the new flat—the furniture, the bar, the objets d’art and decor. And soon the place was quite beautifully set up. Apart from the bedroom, dining room, and entrance hall, there was an Oriental room which recaptured the fantasies of A Thousand and One Nights. He spent without limit, as though ridding himself of a painful financial tumor. He followed Mustapha’s amazed eyes as he toured the place, and when they finally met his glance, said, “Instead of reprimanding me, talk to me about the meaning of life.”

“Life!”

“I’ll knock the deaf walls at every spot until the voice inside betrays the hidden treasure.”

Mustapha shrugged resignedly and said, “There is a certain beauty in the madness.”

“The last few days have given me a taste for life I’ve never had before. Nothing else matters.”

Mustapha said, smiling, “Yazbeck’s uneasiness proves the girl’s loyalty.”

“She’s loyal and honest or else the greatest of actresses.”

“But she’s a failure as an actress.”

The apartment overwhelmed her when she entered it the first time. She exclaimed in admiration, “You really do have champagne taste, but you’ve been too extravagant.”

He gave her a light kiss and said, “This is our little nest.”

“I don’t want to burden you or give you any false impressions about me.”

“If I didn’t know the real Warda, I wouldn’t have made any effort.”

She laughed coquettishly. “You’re alone responsible for your understanding.”

“And the pyramids?”

“Just because we shriek when fire burns us doesn’t mean shrieking is in our nature.”

He stretched out on the divan, saying, “Mustapha tells me Yazbeck is upset.”

“I refused to go out with anyone else. He can jump in the lake.”

“And stay there indefinitely.”

“I’ll restrict my work at the Capri to dancing.”

“You’re so sweet.”

“It’s hot today. I’m going to take a shower in the new bathroom.”