21
21It was with huge pleasure that Day followed Helen up the steps at the side of the Curator’s house. On stepping onto the shady terrace where the vine-covered pergola gave onto a view of the garden, he experienced once again the feeling of being in a kind of Arcadia.
“Any moment now a faun will step out from the olive grove,” he thought to himself.
“Ah, it’s Professor Day!” teased the Curator.
They all chatted for a few moments before Aristos took Helen to see the heavily fruiting apricot tree and the clusters of young pistachios. He loved her interest in his various crops and was particularly proud of his grapes, which kind friends with a small vineyard took annually to add to their harvest, giving him a few bottles of the resulting wine.
Rania and Day went to sit in the comfortab
