Boldly I went forward into that room, and in an instant saw that I was not mistaken, for there, chatting to a circle of men and women at the opposite end of the salon, was the small, fair-haired woman whom I had seen in Ernest's company at Monte Carlo, and whom I had followed to Enghien. The man who had given me the stolen notes was standing near her, listening to her account of a pleasure trip from which she had apparently only just returned.
A couple of new-comers, well-dressed men, entered, walked straight up to her, shook hands, and expressed their delight that she had returned to Paris to resume her entertainments.
"I, too, am glad to return to all my friends, messieurs," she laughed. "I really found Monte Carlo very dull, after all."
"You were not fortunate? That is to be regretted."
"Ah!" she said. "With such a maximum, how can one hope to gain? It is impossible."
I stood watching the play. As far as I could see, it was perfectly fair; but some of the players, keen-faced men, were evidently practised card-sharpers, swindlers, or men who lived by their wits. The amount of money constantly changing hands surprised me. As I stood there, one young man, scarcely more than a lad, lost five thousand francs with perfect sang-froid. The women present were none of them young, but were mostly elderly and ugly, of that stamp so eternally prominent in the Principality of Monaco. The woman, when she turns gambler, always loses her personal beauty. It may be the vitiated atmosphere in which she exists; it may be the constant tension of the nerves; or it may, perchance, be the unceasing, all-consuming avarice—which, I know not. All I am certain of is that no woman can play and at the same time remain fresh, youthful, and interesting.
Until that moment I had remained there unnoticed in the excited crowd, for I had turned my back upon Madame Fournereau, lest she should recognise in me the woman whom Ernest had undoubtedly pointed out to her either in the Rooms, in Giro's, or elsewhere.
But as I began to pass back to the adjoining room, where I considered there would be less risk of recognition, the green curtains suddenly opened, and Ernest Cameron stood before me.