Then Rose appeared, coming around the curve of the banisters from the landing above. Hubert thought, Lord, what a beautiful house this is. Look at the wonderful staircase they have. And he watched Rose. He thought, She is immortal, with that fair hair … She made him think of the Forest of Arden. She had her coat over her arm and she was coming down slowly one step at a time, like a child. He thought she looked discontented, but then she glanced up and saw him watching her and she gave him a conspiratorial smile, as though he had seen her at a disadvantage and she did not mind. He thought, She is not very big, and he wondered admiringly what size shoe she wore. When she reached the third step from the bottom she stood still and looked at him.

“I am afraid of the stairs,” she said, and then she said, “You look very polite, standing there.”

“I was thinking I would like to take a bite out of you,” he said, and he grinned foolishly as she stepped down three more times and came to stand before him.

He gave her the handkerchief, relinquishing it as though he were giving up his passport, or his ticket of passage, or, as it was, his one and only hope of refuge in her country. She took the handkerchief without surprise, but he saw how her fingers closed around it once she had it in her hand. She looked at him and he thought, She is the only one in the world who can see me … Her eyes were green, the color of seaweed, and in their depths he found the light that would define him and enclose him in constancy. He thought, She is my own true self, and he wanted to tell her all his troubles.

“I can’t dance,” he said. “I would have told you before, but I was ashamed.”

“Hubert,” she said, “there were a whole lot of things I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you about my handkerchief, that it was lost, but it wasn’t lost at all, but I didn’t know that. There were a whole lot of other things I wanted to tell you about, about the curtains and so on — a whole lot of things. But first I want to know — there is no one else I can ask, but please don’t laugh at me — I’ve been wanting to know, where is the music coming from?”

“Oh, wait till I show you,” he said. “It’s as good as an orchestra. You’d never find it unless you were looking for it. The house is bigger than you would think. We have to go through the drawing room. Wait till you see. I’d never have found it only that I was looking for you.”