“I thank you,” she said. “And now I think the patient should rest.”

“About that,” Jim said. “I was thinking-I mean, Sandy shouldn’t be imposing on you.”

“She cannot go back to that house,” Kore said sharply. “I have seen; it is terrible, dirty, no comfort-”

“I agree. I thought I would get her a room at the hotel. I’m sure she’d feel better not imposing-”

“Impose, impose!” Kore’s eyes flashed. She drew herself up. “In that filthy hotel she will get infection just from touching. No; you do not think impose, you think we are evil here. You fear my poor Jürgen.”

“Oh, damn,” Jim said uncomfortably. “That isn’t the point.”

“You do not think he would harm her? He has saved her life!”

“I know, I know. I just thought-”

“I wish you would both stop fighting about me,” I interrupted. “I feel like a bone between two dogs. Don’t I have anything to say about what becomes of me?”

They both looked at me as if I’d said something rude. Then Kore smiled.

“You see, she is better. But not well yet; she cannot go anywhere today. Will you carry her to the village on your back? We talk tomorrow, yes? We must think before we act. And now it is time for her to sleep. I will wait outside while you say good-bye.”

She closed the door after her, but I was sure she would hang around till Jim left. I lowered my voice.

“I do feel pretty groggy, Jim. And I’ve got to think about what I plan to do. You’re not worried about that poor old man, are you?”

“I don’t think he’s homicidal, no. And I must admit the hotel doesn’t have much to offer. I just don’t like the situation here.”

“What bugs you? She’s been charming to me.”

“Too charming.”

“Oh, stop it. You sound like an old village witch croaking. Jim, I need a few days to think about what I’m going to do. I ought to talk to Frederick.”

“Why? It seems to me he’s forfeited his rights-if he ever had any to begin with.”

“It isn’t that simple.”

“It sure isn’t. Your feelings about him are the most ambivalent-”

“When I want a psychiatrist, I’ll hire a pro,” I said sharply. “All I meant was that I don’t have any money. Frederick owes me a plane ticket.”

“If you want to go home, I’ll see you have a ticket,” Jim said.

“I don’t know what I want to do. I need time to think.”

“Okay. I guess I’d better go, before Kore comes in here and throws me out.”

“Good-bye,” I said.

“See you later.” He leaned over me.

Kore chose that moment to open the door. Jim glanced at her over his shoulder and then went on with what he had been doing. If Kore’s soft laughter bothered him, his technique was not noticeably affected.

“Mmmm,” I said dreamily. “That was the best yet.”

“The best is yet to come.” Jim straightened. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Still laughing, Kore took his arm. They might have been two old friends, or mother and son, as they went out together.

I was supposed to take a nap after lunch. I didn’t plan to sleep, but I looked forward to being alone and uninterrupted. I had a lot of thinking to do.

I should have been thinking about my future plans, but there really wasn’t much to think about. I knew what I ought to do. I ought to go home. I didn’t want to. It was as simple as that, and there didn’t seem to be any compromise.

The main reason I was reluctant to leave was Jim. Sure, he seemed to be interested, but… It’sa long way from California to Florida. Maybe I could get a job in California.

I knew that was impossible. I had already signed a contract for fall. I also knew that my concern about Jim was probably a pretense. The way we felt about each other was too strong to be stretched by distance. I was as sure of that as I was sure of my own name…

I decided to abandon that analogy. There were times when I wasn’t sure of my own name.

But Jim was wrong about the past. It cannot be ignored. It sends out runners, like crabgrass. The roots grow underground, unseen, until suddenly a new shoot springs up. What was happening here and now was the result of that thirty-year-old tragedy. Something had drawn the protagonists of the drama together here on Thera-the German officer and his mistress, two of the three who had fought him-and Jim.

Thinking is tiring, and thinking when you are curled up in a nice comfortable bed is even more difficult. I had gotten that far in my meditations when I fell asleep. I woke up to find Keller sitting by the bed.

I must have recoiled. His face changed; he put out his hand and then pulled it back.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said quickly. “I did not-I was waiting for you to wake.”

“You startled me,” I said.

“I am sorry. I have brought the books…”

He held them out, like a peace offering. I couldn’t be afraid of him.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I would like to talk. Are you strong enough?”

“I’m fine. I could run down the hill right now.”

“No, you must not do that,” he said seriously. “That is what I wish to talk about. First, to say we hope you will stay here until you are ready to leave Thera. It is a favor to us, you must think of it so.”

“That is very kind,” I said noncommittally.

“I say this first, so you will understand that your presence is no trouble, but a pleasure. Because otherwise you may interpret what I am about to say wrongly.”

He hesitated, staring at me with wide eyes. His pupils were dilated, more so than the fading light would explain.

“Yes?” I said.

“You must leave Thera. As soon as you are able to travel, you must go. It is not-”

He stopped speaking and turned his head, as if he had heard some sound at the door.

“It isn’t what?” I asked urgently. “Go on…please!”

“Safe.” The word was whispered. “You are not safe in this place. You are like a fly in a web, caught by forces you cannot control. For your own safety-”

The door opened.

“So she wakes,” said Kore gaily. “Ha-do I interrupt a tête-à-tête? Shall I return later?”

Keller leaned back in the chair. “I am telling her she must not leave us until she is ready to go back to her family,” he said calmly. “You have interrupted, Liebchen; I was about to offer, if she should need money-”

“Oh, no,” I said.

“But certainly.” Kore sauntered across the room. The woman had an incredible wardrobe; every time I saw her she was wearing a new outfit. This was a pant suit of mustard-colored raw silk. Not many women could have worn such a shrieking shade, but Kore carried it off superbly.

“As a loan,” she continued. “That is understood. But we hope you will not go soon. It is pleasure for me to have you. Another woman of my own kind, you understand. I am often lonely.”

It was a pretty picture; but I was unconvinced. No one could have looked less pathetic than Kore, with her jewels-she wore them with everything-and her Paris clothes and her arrogant, experienced face.

“So now you see,” she went on, when I didn’t answer. “You understand. Jürgen, you have examined the patient? You are ready to dress for dinner?”

The hand she placed on Keller’s arm suggested the grip of a warder rather than that of a lover. I couldn’t figure out whose side she was on. I couldn’t even figure out what the different sides were. He urged me to leave, she begged me to stay. I couldn’t accept his concern as meaningful. What danger could there be for me here?

However, I decided that I had better start getting myself back into shape. Kore’s motives for keeping me in bed might be entirely charitable, but inactivity would weaken me as much as loss of blood. I wasn’t worried or afraid. I just didn’t like the idea of being helpless.

As soon as they had left, I got out of bed. I was dizzy at first, but after I had walked a little, holding on to the edge of the bed, my wobbly legs felt stronger. I got back into the bed with a feeling of childish triumph, and when Kore came back I was innocently reading one of Keller’s books. It was a volume of Shakespeare.