He had finished shaving and,
when they were dressed, they went down to breakfast in a dining-room
with a marble floor and walls lustrous with bronze tiling. They had
tall glasses of iced orange juice; and, with the last fragrant draught
of coffee, Lee lighted a long bland cigar.
"If you like," he proceeded comfortably, "you may rush around and see
as much of the city as possible. There is a big omnibus at the door.
Personally, I am going to do nothing of the kind. I intend to sit and
smoke, and then--smoke and sit. I am done with the proper and expected
thing in every one of its forms. I have always hated churches; and the
spots where soldiers fell or martyrs were burned, monuments, just annoy
me; and picture galleries give me colds in the head. Above all else I
don't want to be improved; if I hear a fact of any sort I am going to
bed for the rest of the day."
"I don't care about those, either," Savina assented; "but the stores,
yes. I have to have a mantilla and a high comb right away, now; and--I
warn you--if it's only in our room I'm going to wear them. If I could
get you into it I'd bring back a shell jacket covered with green braid
and a wide scarlet sash, or whatever an espada wears."
"A guitar and a carnation ought to do," he responded. "Count on me for
nothing until the evening, when, if you care to, we'll drive along the
sea, one way and then the other, and have dinner where we happen to be.
Pages:
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306