She came up with a lipstick and began applying it. "I want to be with my husband," she said, consulting a compact mirror.
"Your husband is dead," Stone said through clenched teeth.
"You look perfectly well to me," she replied gazing levelly at him.
"Dolce…"
"And how is the murderess, Mrs. Calder?"
"Dolce…"
"I think I will be quite happy when they put her away."
"Dolce…"
"Vance was such a lovely man, and we were such good friends. I think it would be terribly unfair, if she got away with it."
"Dolce, stop it!"
"My goodness, Stone, keep your voice down. We don't want a public scene, do we?"
Stone decided to treat this as a negotiation. "Just tell me what you want," he said.
Her eyebrows shot up. "What I want? Why, I want whatever my darling husband wants. What do you want, dear?"
"I want to end this little charade of yours; I want us to go our separate ways in an amicable manner." He paused and decided to fire the last arrow in his quiver. "I want to be with Arrington."
Her eyebrows dropped, and her eyes narrowed. "Believe me when I tell you, my darling, that I will never, ever allow that to happen, and you had better get used to the idea now."
Stone felt his gorge rising, but the waiter appeared with their lunch, allowing him to cool down for a moment before continuing. "I don't understand," he said.
"You asked me to marry you, did you not?"
"Yes, but…"
"And I married you, in Venice, did I not?"
"That wasn't a legal marriage."
"Oh, Stone, now you're beginning to sound like a lawyer."
"I am a lawyer, and I know when I'm married and when I'm not."
"I'm afraid not, Sweetie," she said, attacking her lobster salad. "You seem unable to face reality; you're in complete denial."
Stone nearly choked on his soup.
"I am in denial?"
"A serious case of denial, I fear."
"Let's talk about denial, Dolce. I've explained to you, in the clearest possible terms, that I no longer wish to continue my relationship with you. I've explained why."
"I seem to remember your saying something about that, but I hardly took you seriously," she said.
This was maddening. "Dolce, I do not love you; I thought I did for a while, but now I realize I don't."
She laughed. "And I suppose you think you love Arrington?"