Bianca Alvorado, despite her outpouring of grief, had been consuming rather a lot of wine at dinner. She had pushed the food around on her plate, but declared that she was far too upset to eat. Eventually, she had risen and rushed from the room. Glowering more darkly than ever, Viktor Sentik hauled himself slowly to his feet and followed her.
Bianca made her way unsteadily from the seafront hotel toward the smaller hotel where she and Viktor were staying. With no audience but Viktor, Bianca ceased her lamentations over the demise of Warner Kendall Hayden, but she sniffed loudly from time to time.
Viktor’s natural taciturnity, or perhaps it was a cultivated trait to underscore his artistic bearing, did not lend itself to making comforting conversation with Bianca. She clung to his arm but
