"A transition," replied Scofield in English. "You can't walk into a decent shop dressed like that." Five minutes later he returned carrying a box containing denim slacks, a white blouse, and a woolen sweater. "Put these on," he said.
"You're mad!" "Modesty becomes you, but we're in a hurry. The stores'll close in an hour. I've got things to wear; you don't." He turned to the driver, whose eyes were riveted on the rear-view mirror. "You understand English better than I thought," he said in Italian. "Drive around. I'll tell you where to go." He opened his duffle bag, and pulled out a tweed jacket.
Antonia changed in the back seat of the taxi, glancing frequently at Scofield. As she slipped the khakis off and the denims on, her long legs caught the light of the streets. Bray looked out the window, conscious of being affected by what he saw in the comer of his eye. He had not had a woman in a long time; he would not have this one. It was entirely possible that he might have to kill her.
She pulled the sweater over her blouse; the loose-fitting wool did not conceal the swell of her breasts and Scofield made it a point to focus his eyes on hers. "That's better. Phase one complete." "You're very generous, but these would not have been my choices." "You can throw them away in an hour. If anyone asks you, you're off a charter boat in Ladispoh." He addressed the driver again. "Go to the Via Condotti. I'll pay you there; we won't need you any longer."
The shop on the Via Condotti was expensive, catering to the idle and the rich, and it was obvious that Antonia Gravet had never been in one like it. Obvious to Bray; he doubted it was so to anyone else. For she had innate tasto--bom, not cultivated. She might have been bursting at the sight of the wealth of garments displayed, but she was the essence of control. It was the elegance Bray had seen in the filthy waterfront cafe in Bastia.
"Do you like it?" she asked, coming out of a fitting room in a subdued, dark silk dress, a wide-brimmed white hat, and a pair of high-heeled white shoes.
"Very nice," said Scofield, meaning it, and her, and everything he saw.
"I feel like a traitor to all the things I've believed for so long," she added, whispering. "These prices could feed ten families for a monthl ]Let's go somewhere else." "We don't have time. Take them and get some kind of coat and anything else you need." "You are mad." "I'm in a hurry." From a booth on the Via Sistina, he called a pensione in the Piazzq Navona where he stayed frequently when in Rome. The landlord and his wife knew nothing at all about Scofield-they were not curious about any of their transient tenants --- except that Bray tipped generously whenever they accommodated him. The owner was happy to do so tonight.
The Piazza Navona was crowded; it was always crowded, thus making it an ideal location for a man in his profession. The Bernini fountains were mapets for citizens and tourists alike, the profusion of outdoor cafes places of assignation, planned and spontaneous; Scofield's had always been planned. A table in a crowded square was a good vantage point for spotting surveillance. It was not necessary to be concerned about such things now.
Now it was only necessary to get some sleep, let the mind clear itself.
Tomorrow a decision would have to be made. The life or the death of the woman at his side whom he guided through the Piazza to an old stone building and the door of the pensione.
The ceiling of their room was high, the windows enor. mous, opening onto the square three stories below. Bray pushed the overstuffed sofa against -the door and pointed to the bed across the room.
"Neither of us slept very much on that damned boat. Get some rest" Antonia opened one of the boxes from the shop in the Via Condotti and took out the dark silk dress. "Why did you buy me these expensive clothes?" "Tomorrow we're going to a couple places where you'll need them." "Why are we going to these places? They must surely be extravagant." "Not really. There are some people I have to see, and I want you with me." "I wanted to thank you. I've never had such beautiful clothes." "You're welcome." Bray went over to the bed