'I just turned the key without thinking.' She moved over to the dressing table, sat down and began to brush her hair.
'What is it?'
Felix sat on the bed. He lit a cigarette and blew a thin stream of smoke towards the ceiling.
'Alsconi was asking what happened at the villa,' he said.
The hairbrush she was using nearly slipped out of Lorelli's hand. She put it down and picked up a comb.
'He seemed to think it went off too easily,' Felix went on. 'I told him you had no trouble: that's right, isn't it?'
'Of course,' Lorelli said curtly. 'I told you what happened. You don't want me to go over it again, do you?'
'So it's definite the money will be paid into the Banca de Roma in four or five days?'
'Yes; anyway that's what Micklem's secretary said.' Lorelli finished combing her hair. She reached for her handbag, opened it and took out her cigarette case. She lit a cigarette.
Felix saw her .25 automatic in the bag.
'That's fine,' he said and got to his feet. 'The old man's still a little doubtful about you, but I told him how well you carried this job out. I'm pleased with you.' He came over to the dressing table. 'I think I'll give you a new handbag as a reward for your cleverness.' He picked up the handbag, moving a shade faster than Lorelli, whose hand had darted out to snatch the bag out of his reach. 'This one's getting shabby.'
'Please put it down!' Lorelli exclaimed, her voice shrill.
Felix looked at her. She saw then how cold, white and set his face was.
'You sound jumpy.' He turned the bag over. 'I think one of those new lizard skin jobs would suit you.' He opened the bag and took out the .25.
Lorelli sat very still, staring up at him, her eyes wide open.
'You're spoiling the shape of the bag, carrying this in it,' Felix went on. He put the bag on the dressing table, holding the gun in his right hand, the barrel pointing at Lorelli's feet.
She didn't say anything. She was rigid, her hands gripped between her knees.
'It's a nice little toy,' Felix went on, turning the gun over. 'At close quarters it could do a lot of damage.' He slid out the clip, emptied the six bullets into his hand, removed the bullet from the breech, put the empty clip back and laid the gun down on the dressing table. 'Safer unloaded, don't you think?' he went on and stood the seven bullets in a row by the gun.
Lorelli watched every movement, her heart beating so violently she had difficulty in breathing.
'Yes, I must see about a new handbag for you,' Felix said and wandered back to the bed and sat down.
Lorelli felt sick with relief. For a horrible moment, she had wondered if Felix had guessed she was betraying him. The business with the gun shook her nerve. She picked up a nail buffer and began to polish her nails.
A long silence hung over the room. She looked out of the corners of her eyes at him. He was leaning back, his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. The expression on his face set her heart thumping again.
'I was worrying about you,' he said suddenly. 'It's a funny thing for me to worry about anyone, but I was about you.'
'What do you mean?' she asked sharply. 'What is there to worry about?'
'Odd, isn't it?' Felix said, ignoring her question. 'You're the only woman I've really ever cared for. When I first met you, I had no idea I could get so fond of you. I sometimes wonder if you're as much in love with me as I am with you.
Are you?'
Lorelli touched her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. The expression on his face, the tension in the room and these odd words warned her something badly was wrong.
'Aren't you being sentimental?' she said huskily. 'You can't measure love. How can I possibly know if I love you more than you love me?'
He stubbed out his cigarette.
'Yes, I guess that's right, but you do still love me, don't you?' 'Yes, of course.' He looked over at her.
'Felix! What is it? Why are you looking like that at me?' Lorelli cried. 'What's the matter?'
'You know you said you wanted to go to Buenos Aires? I've been thinking about that. If we did decide to go, what would we do for money?'
Lorelli stared at him. 'But you said you wouldn't go.'
'I can change my mind, can't I? If I thought we could get hold of some money...' he broke off and shrugged. 'It costs a lot to live in hiding. Then there are the fares. We would have to fly. That costs money.'
Felix's face hardened.
'Just how much money have you?'
'A half a million lire. It would be enough to get us there and to keep us for a month until I found something to do.'
Felix shook his head.
'It's not enough. Alsconi would hunt for us. We need much more than that to be safe. You wouldn't dare earn a living.
