“She will come back,” said José; “why don’t you sit down and wait?”
Graham sat down slowly. He was puzzled. Still picking his teeth, José glanced across the compartment. “You don’t understand, eh?”
“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to understand.”
José peered at his thumbnail, licked it, and went to work again on an eye tooth. “You like Josette, eh?”
“Of course. But …”
“She is very pretty, but she has no sense. She is a woman. She does not understand business. That is why I, her husband, always look after the business. We are partners. Do you understand that?”
“It’s simple enough. What about it?”
“I have an interest in Josette. That is all.”
Graham considered him for a moment. He was beginning to understand only too well. He said: “Say exactly what you mean, will you?”
With the air of making a decision, José abandoned his teeth and twisted on his seat so that he was facing Graham. “You are a business man, eh?” he said briskly. “You do not expect something for nothing. Very well. I am her manager and I do not give anything for nothing. You want to amuse yourself in Paris, eh? Josette is a very nice girl and very amusing for a gentleman. She is a nice dancer, too. Together we earn at least two thousand francs a week in a nice place. Two thousand francs a week. That is something, eh?”