His face appeared at the window of the pub, eyes bright with the cold, an
incongruous straw-boater perched on his head. He raised what was left of a
glass of red wine to us, cheerily; and we raised our glasses to him.
Moments later, he poked his head through door and said, in an unfeignedly
well-educated accent: ‘I say, you couldn’t possibly help me with a little
something to get me home to my sister, could you? A quid, perhaps, or … ‘
–as he saw the change in my palm– ‘ … better still, two?’ I dropped
two coins into his hand. He grinned, tipped a finger to the brim of his
hat, and was gone.
