“Of course! I thought it was all arranged.”
“Oh yes, but”-she pressed his arm against her side-“I did not think that you were serious. You see,” she went on carefully, “so many men like to talk about what will happen, but they do not always like to remember what they have said. It is not that they do not mean what they say but that they do not always feel the same. You understand me, chéri?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I want you to understand,” she went on, “because it is very important to me. I am a dancer and must think of my career also.” She turned to him impulsively. “But you will think that I am selfish and I would not like you to think that. It is just that I like you very much and do not wish you to do anything simply because you have made a promise. As long as you understand that, it is all right. We will not talk about it.” She snapped her fingers. “Look! When we get to Paris we will go straight to a hotel which I know of near the St. Philippe du Roule Metro. It is very modern and respectable and if you wish we can have a bathroom. It is not expensive. Then we will have champagne cocktails at the Ritz bar. They are only nine francs. While we have those drinks we can decide where to eat. I am very tired of Turkish foods and the sight of ravioli makes me ill. We must have good French food.” She paused and added hesitantly, “I have never been to the Tour d’Argent.”
“You shall.”
“You mean it? I shall eat until I am as fat as a pig. After that we will begin.”
“Begin?”
“There are some little places that are still open late in spite of the police. I will introduce you to a great friend of mine. She was the sous-maquecée of the Moulin Galant when Le Boulanger had it and before the gangsters came. You understand sous-maquecée?”
“No.”
She laughed. “It is very bad of me. I will explain to you another time. But you will like Suzie. She saved a lot of money and now she is very respectable. She had a place in the rue de Liège which was better than Le Jockey Cabaret in Istanbul. She had to close it when the war came but she has opened another place in an impasse off the rue Pigalle and those who are her friends can go there. She has a great many friends and so she is making money again. She is quite old and the police do not trouble her. She shrugs her shoulders at them. Just because there is this filthy war there is no reason why we should all be miserable. I have other friends in Paris, too. You will like them when I introduce you. When they know that you are my friend they will be polite. They are very polite and nice when you are introduced by someone who is known in the quarter.”