"How much did you get for the pearl necklace?"
"Three hundred and fifty."
"Then you were swindled."
"I know that, of course. I told them so. What did it matter? It was all gone in a few weeks. I can tell you I made money fly in those days. That's all past. I've lost what little good looks I ever had, haven't I?"
"Quite," said Lord Alcester, mercilessly. "You drink, you see," he added.
The girl put down her glass and fumbled desperately for a dirty little handkerchief with her face screwed awry. She dabbed at her eyes and shook with sobs.
"Stop that," said Lord Alcester. "You are making the devil of a row. Look here, come to business."
"I might have been good," she moaned. "If I had never met you I might have been good."
Lord Alcester was writing something on one of his visiting-cards. He stepped over to her and touched her on the shoulder. "Can you read that address?" he said.
"Yes," she said between her sobs. "Lincoln's Inn Fields. Solicitors, I suppose?"