The colonel and Renata enter the Gritti Palace Hotel and are greeted by the staff. The gran maestro arranges for them to dine privately in the bar. Their conversation covers humor and references to the colonel’s military service. Renata reassures the colonel about appearances and propriety in Venice as they decide to go up to his room before dinner, telling him that “everything is known in Venice anyway” (86). They take the elevator and arrive at the colonel’s room overlooking the Grand Canal, where they share a long and intense kiss. Renata speaks of marriage and children while the colonel plays along. Renata then reveals a personal disappointment, which the colonel receives with sympathy and restrained sorrow for his “poor Daughter.” Renata prepares herself for dinner by combing her hair, while the colonel washes and reflects on his aging, wounded, “ugly” face and his past as a soldier. Leaving the bathroom, he feels renewed and emotionally stripped of bitterness. He watches Renata as she finishes arranging her hair, admires her beauty, and reassures her of his love. Together, they resolve to go down to dinner as Renata wonders why her portrait has not yet arrived at the hotel. The colonel reiterates his love for Renata.

The colonel and Renata dine together in a secluded corner of the hotel bar. The gran maestro serves them an unusually large lobster. With humor and affection, they speak about truth and lying, with the colonel acknowledging the compromises made in his career and Renata reflecting on honesty and imagination in childhood. The colonel claims to have lied only four times in his life; if he had lied as other people lie, he claims, he would be “a three-star general” (92). They talk about the wine as the supposed writer watches them from across the dining room.

As the meal continues, they discuss memory and belonging, particularly the Dalmatian coast and the shared sense of possession created by naming it as theirs. Renata speaks of her desire for love, children, and a life beyond appearances while resisting the idea that they should marry immediately. The colonel expresses vulnerability and affection but accepts her boundaries. The gran maestro recommends a steak for Renata and scaloppine for the colonel. The meal prompts reminiscence about the colonel and the gran maestro’s youth during World War I, particularly fighting in the Grappa region.

The colonel reflects on military leadership and combat experience, explaining that most generals dislike those who have actually fought. He recounts fighting against Rommel as a young officer and describes his attitude toward enemies, emphasizing professionalism rather than hatred. He speaks about killing in war without remorse and about combat dreams, claiming to have killed “one hundred and twenty-two sures” (97), and possibly more people. Renata shares her own wartime loss, including her father’s death and the destruction of her family villa. They study the American writer dining nearby, whom the colonel dismisses as superficial. The conversation turns to contemporary military leaders and World War II. The colonel offers blunt assessments of figures such as Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Patton, contrasting political generals with competent field commanders. He recounts the liberation of Paris, describing it as an “emotional experience” but militarily limited, influenced by politics, delay, and restraint rather than decisive combat.

Later, the colonel explains the realities of command at the general level, including maps, logistics, and responsibility. He rejects the idea of writing about war, arguing that firsthand knowledge hinders people’s ability to write compelling stories. He discusses his heart condition with Renata, prompting concern, but he minimizes it. The portrait Renata has commissioned of herself is delivered to the table. The colonel is deeply moved, admiring its restraint but struggling with accepting such a gift. The portrait is taken to his room for safekeeping. Together, they agree to take a late-night ride in a gondola in spite of the cold weather.

The colonel and Renata leave the hotel by a side entrance and board a gondola as a strong wind blows across the lagoon. Renata directs the route because of the high tide and low bridges, choosing a course that avoids the wind. The gran maestro sends a bottle of wine and an old army blanket, which the colonel accepts with thanks after a brief exchange with the waiter.

As the gondola settles into motion, the colonel and Renata take shelter under the blanket and kiss intimately. They reiterate their love for one another. They pass from the Grand Canal into narrower canals where the wind lessens. The gondoliere navigates carefully under low bridges due to the high tide. The colonel notes landmarks and their changing position in the city. Their talk briefly turns to Paris, war, and historical figures. As Renata asks to hear more about the colonel’s past, he wonders “when the hell was [he] ever hurt” (123).

Pulling the blanket over them both, Renata urges the colonel to stay with her. They plan for the next day, with Renata also planning future trips to Rome to buy clothes. She begins to cry as the colonel consoles her. They disembark from the gondola and walk through the Piazzetta, and Renata notes that the Germans shot the square’s pigeons during the war. As they talk, the colonel describes himself as “always the last man to leave the party” (126). As they approach the end of the evening, they kiss. Renata enters her family home, leaving the colonel alone on the “worn pavement” in the wind. Rather than socialize at Harry’s, he decides to return to his hotel.

The colonel’s hotel room has been laid out exactly as he prefers. The portrait of Renata has been propped up on two chairs so that he can view it from the bed. Opening a fresh bottle of wine, he toasts his “Daughter.” Chastising himself for talking to a portrait, he wonders what he feels went wrong with the evening. He resolves to be “a good boy” when he sees Renata next (129). He repeats his love for her to the portrait and carefully stores the emeralds, determined to return them to Renata. He begins to read the New York Herald Tribune and debates whether to take his pills, eventually doing so.

The colonel wakes before dawn, alone in bed. Drinking “awfully dreggy” remnants of the wine, he returns to the newspaper and thinks of the day ahead. He imagines that Renata, in her youth, will sleep late. He thinks about how he has spent so long alone and without privacy in the military. As he shaves, he considers his reflection and his “unspeakably mutilated” body. He looks forward to the light of dawn so that he can better see the portrait of Renata.

Dawn arrives, and the colonel sees the portrait in the light. He thinks of the men who lost their lives under his command and recalls Shakespeare, wondering whether Renata ever read King Lear. He thinks about the countries that he has loved; all three were lost, and he helped two of them be retaken. He helped to liberate France and Italy; he is determined to one day liberate Spain from “General Fat Ass Franco” (134). He wishes that Renata were with him as he begins speaking with the portrait. The portrait does not answer his questions; he feels ashamed for talking roughly to the painting and resolves to be better disposed with Renata when they meet. He hopes that she will call him soon.

Each day, the colonel notices the hall porter slipping a newspaper beneath his door. He dislikes the hall porter, whom he once found searching his belongings, so he tries to snatch the paper from the man’s hand as it is slipped under the door. The colonel suspects that the hall porter is an “ex-Fascist,” though he admits that he cannot bring himself to hate fascists, either Italian or German. He explains to the portrait that he does not hate enemy soldiers. This is just one of many things that the portrait (and Renata) is too young to understand. Feeling hungry, he calls for breakfast and discusses mortality and the military with the waiter.