“It will prove an expensive pastime for him,” exclaimed her companion, laughing.
“But profitable to us. Think what it will mean if we succeed.”
“We must succeed, sooner or later.”
“Never draw hasty conclusions,” remarked mademoiselle. “One awkward incident and the whole scheme might collapse. Even now I’m almost at a standstill for want of funds.”
“Have you spent all the last?”
“Yes; and moreover, the man who furnished my place in Brussels two years ago threatens to take possession because I can’t pay him, while I have heaps of other unpaid bills.”
“Can’t you sell your jewels?” suggested Pierre.
“They went long ago. All that I have now are only paste,” she replied disconsolately.
“Wouldn’t Trethowen lend you some if you told him some pitiful tale?”
“How could I ask him? You forget that he believes me to be rich, with the fabulously wealthy Comte Chaulin-Servinière as my cousin.”