POSTSCRIPT

                 Five minutes after receiving Her command, and exactly as Marquesa had ordered, Her inadvertent dinner host feels waking consciousness gradually returning.  Foggily, he emerges from his dream, his eyes flutter open, his vision and equilibrium begin to restore themselves, and, sluggishly, he begins to gather his wits.  At present, everything he sees seems to be taking place in slow motion.  Looking reflexively to his left where Marquesa had just been sitting, he dully notes that the place next to him had been set for dinner and, apparently, used, because Her dessert dish hasn’t yet been picked up.  Next, his glance falls on his own dessert dish, which remains untouched.  Upon seeing it, he looks around to catch a glance at whomever must have been seated next to him.  In the distance, he catches the briefest glimpse of the interesting lady who had invited him earlier to join Her in the corner as She passes out of view, and the moment he lays his eyes on Her, his mind quickens, and, simultaneously, a sudden inner voice commands him to pay the meal bill. Read more…