A new year begins, and immediately, the narrator is confronted by the widow's presence. They exchange a few glances, but the storyteller is unable to take the next step. He feels his spirit lighten as he rests under a fragrant almond tree where Zorba finds him. The men return to Madame Hortense's inn for lunch while Zorba goads the narrator with his encounter with the widow at church the previous night. To further his own amorous pursuits, Zorba presents Hortense with a painting of the innkeeper as a siren leading the battleships of England, Russia, France, and Italy. Reminded of her past glories and soon quite drunk on wine, Madame Hortense begins recounting still further affairs she's carried out across the world. This annoys Zorba, and he storms off to leave the woman.....
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