Léon buried his head in his hands and laughed wildly. He laughed to save himself from tears. Madame Gérard said nothing at all; but she stretched out her hand for the tea Rose had poured out for her and began to drink it. Rose ate two rolls and a half. “I’m afraid you’ll think I’m dreadfully greedy,” she explained, “but I haven’t had any lunch, or any breakfast either, properly.” “But I,” said Léon, coming from behind his hands, “I cannot meet Monsieur Gérard to-morrow?” “No,” said Rose, “but I left my luggage on the Quay. There is a boat that goes to Venice to-night, and I thought,” she murmured with a diffident, disarming smile, “that perhaps you wouldn’t mind if we just went to Venice, Léon. It would be more gay.” THE END * * * * * Transcriber’s Notes: A few obvious punctuation and typesetting errors have been corrected without note. Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been employed. A cover has been created for this ebook and is placed in the public domain. [End of _Helen of Troy and Rose_ by Phyllis Bottome]