“It is not as much as I had thought,” she said. “The tickets were very expensive and then I had to pay for the brandy on the train and that came to quite a lot. I am afraid, Aunt Lily, I hardly know how to tell you, there is only eighty-two francs here.”
“Ridiculous,” the Duchesse replied crisply. “There must be more!”
“There isn’t.”
The Duchesse thought for a moment and then she rose and went to her jewel case.
“Take this bracelet,” she said, “and then go to the jeweller opposite the hotel. Ask for Monsieur Jacques. Tell him that you have come from me. Say I have arrived in Monte Carlo unexpectedly without having had time to arrange Letters of Credit. Tell him it was because of illness. He will not ask you any questions, he is very discreet. And say that I want to borrow money on the
