“Prussic acid in the Café of the Casino. They always said he was the luckiest player in the Rooms, the man who never lost. As it turned out he did nothing but lose; he lost a million and hid it behind that placid smile. That smile was a mask that hid his agony....”
“Pretty rough! One never knows. Oh, I say, I haven’t seen anything of the Calderbrooks lately.”
“No, they’re lying low at present. They went through their letter of credit and then borrowed from the bank. The old man wanted to go home, but the two women persuaded him to stay another month. They put a mortgage on their house, and are having two thousand pounds sent out.”
“And what about Mrs. Emslie’s daughter?”
“Oh, June. The Fitzoswalds have taken her in. Poor girl! She was very ill after the tragedy. We wanted to send her to England, but it seems she has no relatives there. They come from Australia. The mother gambled away all the girl’s fortune and the poor thing is alone in the world, helpless and destitute.”
“Is she better now?”
“Yes. The mother led her an awful life. June is helping Mrs. Fitzoswald to look after the kiddies. You know Mrs. Fitz? Spunky little Irishwoman with bronze gold hair and a turned up nose! Fitz is that red-headed, one-legged man; always plays the same game, builds up louis round the number thirty-two. He says it is his wife’s age, but she denies it. She says she wishes Fitz would hurry up and be ruined, for then they could go home to Ireland and live in peace. Well, they’re awfully fine people, and so good to June. I say, young man, there’s a chance for you. A sweet, pretty, refined girl, friendless and without a sou. Why don’t you sail in, marry her and be happy ever after?”
“But I’ve never had the faintest idea of marrying.”
“Ah well, poor June must become a nurse or a governess, or fall into the clutches of some professional seducer such as Vulning. I’ve heard he’s after her. I hope the Major gets ruined pretty soon, and then the Fitzoswalds can take June away from this infected hell.”