‘Don’t you want it?’ he asked.

‘I don’t,’ she replied emphatically.

‘But — ’ he said, ‘how long have you known?’

‘Ten weeks,’ she said.

All the time she kept her dark, inchoate eyes full upon him. He remained silent, thinking. Then, switching off and becoming cold, he asked, in a voice full of considerate kindness:

‘Is there anything we can eat here? Is there anything you would like?’

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I should adore some oysters.’

‘All right,’ he said. ‘We’ll have oysters.’ And he beckoned to the waiter.