I nodded. “Quite sure, I’m afraid. I’m finding it hard to believe, too. It seems so unfair. Just that once, and . . .” I turned my face away, unable to look at him.

His hand now gripped mine. “Don’t worry, cara mia. I will do all I can to help you. If I could marry you, I would. You know that. But as it is . . .” He took a deep breath, shaking his head.

“I understand. There is not much that you can do. But I have decided that I will stay until the child is born, then I will arrange for an adoption and go home. Nobody will ever need to know what happened here.”

“You will give your baby away? So easily? A good home, like the kittens?”

I wished he hadn’t brought them up. I turned on him. “What do you want me to do, then?” I heard my voice crack with emotion. “What do you suggest? I’m sure you understand that I can’t keep a child.”

His hand tightened over mine. “Let me think about this,” he said. “We will do what is best. Maybe . . . ,” he began, then stopped, leaving me wondering what “maybe” might have entailed. Instead he asked, “You have seen a doctor?”

“I am not going to get rid of the child, if that is what you are suggesting.”

He looked horrified. “Of course. Under no circumstance. I meant a doctor to confirm your condition.”

“There is no need. My condition is quite obvious to me.”

“I will arrange for you to see our family doctor. Quite confidential, you understand. At least I can make sure your health is taken care of. And money. You should not have to worry about money.”

“It’s all right,” I said. “I have enough. My stipend will keep me going through the year. The child will be born in early May, I think. Then I can recover and go home.”

“You talk about it so easily,” he said. “As if we were discussing a minor inconvenience.”

I looked away, my fingers moving over the rough brickwork. “I’ve had some time to think about it, Leo. At first I was in a desperate panic, but I realize I have to be rational. To have no personal feelings for a baby I can never keep. It’s better that way, isn’t it?”

“But hard,” he said, pausing a long time. “I want to do what I can. Of course I will help you to get home when the time is right. If Europe is in turmoil, then we will find a ship to take you to Malta or Gibraltar. A British island, yes?”

I nodded. The implications of staying were just becoming real. Not being able to cross a war-torn Europe. Being deposited on a British island. And what would I do there? Would there be a way to get me home?