you the bill I got from Tiffany's for the engraved invitations he advised me I must send."
"Invitations?"
"To a long list of people he said had to be invited to the concert."
"You see how impractical she is," Figente pouted in response to Vermillion's look of inquiry. "She doesn't understand that you have to spend money to make some."
"If you have it to spend," Vermillion said.
Figente dismissed this as caviling. "One can always borrow. International finance is largely a matter of credit."
Lucy rejected this observation with a positive shake of her head. "Not me! I like to know exactly where I'm at. I like to pay as I go. I hate being in debt to anybody for anything."
Vermillion laughed appreciatively at this declaration which could have come from himself.
"That's an extremely literal point of view," Figente deprecated. "You'll never get anywhere on that practice."
"How do you know where I want to go?" she demanded.
"I only know what I hope you will attain," he said, nettled.
"I know where I'm going," Vermillion said rising.
"Are you leaving already?" Lucy asked dismayed. "Wait for me, I can't stay long."
"He was about to leave when you came. You stay and keep me company."
"I only stopped in to see how you were," she said. "You look tired. You ought to go to bed."
"You might at least stay long enough to finish that excellent champagne," he said.
"I was going to walk anyway," Vermillion contributed. Figente looked put out at being left alone.
"That's fine, I love to walk," Lucy said, deliberately misinterpreting, and drank quickly another glass. "There now, I've had three and I enjoyed them. Now you get a good rest, I don't want you sick for the recital. You are going to be proud of Hal and the boys, they're wonderful at rehearsals."
"I'm relieved to hear it," Figente said brightening, "and do they always come, and on time? I don't know what's going on since they stopped rehearsing here, but I couldn't have them while I am ill."
"Don't you worry about a thing, they haven't missed one rehearsal."
