e in left circle. His head
follows. She whirls it back in right circle. He eyes her.)_ Catch!

_(She tosses a piece. With an adroit snap he catches it and bites it
through with a crack.)_

KITTY: _(Chewing)_ The engineer I was with at the bazaar does have
lovely ones. Full of the best liqueurs. And the viceroy was there with
his lady. The gas we had on the Toft's hobbyhorses. I'm giddy still.

BLOOM: _(In Svengali's fur overcoat, with folded arms and Napoleonic
forelock, frowns in ventriloquial exorcism with piercing eagle glance
towards the door. Then rigid with left foot advanced he makes a swift
pass with impelling fingers and gives the sign of past master, drawing
his right arm downwards from his left shoulder.)_ Go, go, go, I conjure
you, whoever you are!

_(A male cough and tread are heard passing through the mist outside.
Bloom's features relax. He places a hand in his waistcoat, posing
calmly. Zoe offers him chocolate.)_

BLOOM: _(Solemnly)_ Thanks.

ZOE: Do as you're bid. Here!

_(A firm heelclacking tread is heard on the stairs.)_

BLOOM: _(Takes the chocolate)_ Aphrodisiac? Tansy and pennyroyal. But I
bought it. Vanilla calms or? Mnemo. Confused light confuses memory. Red
influences lupus. Colours affect women's characters, any they have. This
black makes me sad. Eat and be merry for tomorrow. _(He eats)_ Influence
taste too, mauve. But it is so long since I. Seems new. Aphro. That
priest. Must come. Better late than never. Try truffles at Andrews.

_(The door opens. Bella Cohen, a massive whoremistress, enters. She
is dressed in a threequarter ivory gown, fringed round the hem with
tasselled selvedge, and cools herself flirting a black horn fan like
Minnie Hauck in_ Carmen. _On her left hand are wedding and keeper rings.
Her eyes are deeply carboned. She has a sprouting moustache. Her
olive face is heavy, slightly sweated and fullnosed with orangetainted
nostrils. She has large pendant beryl eardrops.)_

BELLA: My word! I'm all of a mucksweat.

_(She glances round her at the couples. Then her eyes rest on Bloom with
hard insistence. Her large fan winnows wind towards her heated faceneck
and embonpoint. Her falcon eyes glitter.)_

THE FAN: _(Flirting quickly, then slowly)_ Married, I see.

BLOOM: Yes. Partly, I have mislaid...

THE FAN: _(Half opening, then closing)_ And the missus is master.
Petticoat government.

BLOOM: _(Looks down with a sheepish grin)_ That is so.

THE FAN: _(Folding