Part 2, Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 Summary

On a hike to his favorite, most isolated place on the island, Nicholas discovers that one of its few villas, apparently owned by a wealthy Athenian, has smoke coming from its chimney. He reacts with a degree of anger, feeling that his almost-sacred solitude has been broken. Later in the day, he explores the land around the villa and discovers mysterious signs of feminine habitation. He also comes upon a sign that says, in French, "the waiting room." He realizes this is the place Mitford warned him about, assumes the villa belongs to the collaborationist with whom Mitford had argued (see Chapter 5), and debates whether to visit the villa. He finally decides to return to the school instead and, over the next few days, tries to find out more about the inhabitants of the villa by asking questions of...