‘Yes. Swimming. Larking about. Water polo, with the big ball.’

‘I know. And on your thighs.’ She took her eyes from the Italian coast, looked towards the big hotel on the harbour, shading her brow. ‘You play water polo with your teeth? Fantastic’

‘You’ve gone loopy. And when did you see all these marks, may I ask. X-ray eyes?’

‘No. Quite all right eyes, thank you. I saw last night. And on your mouth, very small then.’ Finding nothing of interest, apparently, at the hotel, she lowered her hand. ‘This morning they show more. Quite big. And after dinner when she said, oh, I can’t remember, something stupid about “Women’s Liberation”, and then she pinched you and you went red in the face.’

‘Complete balls.’

‘You did. We all saw. Everyone saw. Cuckoo too … and we laughed of course, so amusing, but I know, you see.’

He picked up the postcard of Marble Arch, tapped it against his lips. ‘And what do you know, Miss Clever Dick?’

‘That you are hiding your bites with “Uncle” Desmond’s postcard. That’s what I know.’

‘That all? What else do you know then?’

She opened her green eyes wide and looked back across to Italy.

‘Come on, Leni. Out with it. Say. What?’

‘Nothing.’

‘You’re making a hell of a song and dance about nothing.’

‘I’m not… I don’t care.’

‘Well. That’s all right then, isn’t it?’

‘Perfectly.’

‘I mean, if you don’t care, it doesn’t matter, does it?’

‘No. It doesn’t matter.’

‘So it’s quite all right?’

‘Quite all right. Thank you.’

‘Well, if it’s quite all right it won’t matter if I tell you, will it?’

‘No. Not at all.’

‘So shall I?’

‘I don’t care.’ She shrugged, still watching the coast of Italy as if she was expecting a friend.

‘Because I did then.’

She was perfectly still.

At the table beside them the English woman cried out in sudden anger, ‘Roger! Take your finger out of your nose! You’ll poke your eye out!’

Marcus tapped his lips gently with the card. ‘Hear what I said, Leni?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. Heard.’

‘And you don’t care.’

Her eyes were suddenly over-bright. ‘Why should I?’

He folded the card in two, put it in his shirt pocket. ‘I’m very sorry.’

She swallowed, tried to speak, failed, closed her mouth.

‘You forced me,’ he said.

She cleared her throat, remained looking ahead. Careful! Careful! You’re going too far. Pull back. ‘Forced? Because of Wolf, is it? Jealous?’

‘Christ no! No. Forced me to tell you!’

‘I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.’

‘Well it does matter. But I couldn't help it. Honestly.’

‘Help it?’

‘No … I was pretty pissed, you know. All day on that white wine.’

‘I know. Frau Baedeker: and something about not doing anything we couldn’t do on a bicycle. Stupid.’

‘I don’t remember.’