ten minutes before
one
Haggard saints peered out at her from dark corners . Flora smiled wistfully through her tears ; she saw the three strong archangels leading boy Tobias home across the hills , and Angelico 's monks and nuns meeting the Blessed Ones in the green , daisied fields of Paradise , and for a little while she was able to forget that no one seemed to want English lessons . On Monday she decided that she must leave the Aquila Verde if she could find anyone to take her for four , or even three lire a day . She went to Cook 's office in the Via Tornabuoni ; it was crowded with Americans come for their mails , and she had to wait ten minutes before one of the young men behind the counter could attend to her . `` What can I do for you ? '' `` Can you recommend me to a very cheap _ pension _ ? '' She noticed a faint alteration in his manner , as though he had lost interest in what she was saying , but when he had looked at her again he answered pleasantly , `` There is Vinella 's in the Piazza Indipendenza , six francs , and there is another in the Via dei Bardi , I think ; but I will ask .