He spoke exactly as if Sylvia was a child.  She felt piqued, and Madame Wolsky stared at him rather haughtily.  Still, she was grateful for his intervention.

“We thank you, Monsieur,” she said stiffly.  “But I think we have been here quite long enough.”

He bowed, and again sat down.

“I will now take you a drive, Sylvia.  We have had sufficient of this!”

Anna walked towards the door, and many were the curious glances now turned after the two friends.

“It will amuse you to see something of Lacville.  As that gentleman said, I do not suppose you will ever come here again.  And, as I shall spend most of my time in the Casino, I can very well afford to spare a little while out of it to-day!”

They made their way out of the great white building, Sylvia feeling oppressed, almost bewildered, by her first taste of gambling.

It was three o’clock, and very hot.  They hailed one of the little open carriages which are among the innocent charms of Lacville.

“First you will go round the lake,” said Madame Wolsky to the driver, “and then you will take us to the Pension Malfait, in l’Avenue des Acacias.”

Under shady trees, bowling along sanded roads lined with pretty villas and chalets, they drove all round the lake, and more and more the place impressed Sylvia as might have done a charming piece of scene-painting.

All the people they passed on the road, in carriages, in motor-cars, and on foot, looked happy, prosperous, gay, and without a care in the world; and where in the morning there had been one boat, there were now five sailing on the blue, gleaming waters fringed with trees and flowering shrubs.

At last they once more found themselves close to the Casino.  A steady stream of people was now pouring in through the great glass doors.

“This sort of thing will go on up till about nine this evening!” said Anna, smiling grimly.  “Think, my dear—­a hundred and twenty trains daily!  That room in the Casino where I first saw you will be crammed to suffocation within an hour, and even the Club will be well filled, though I fancy the regular habitues of the club are rather apt to avoid Saturday and Sunday at Lacville.  I myself, when living here, shall try to do something else on those two days.  By the way—­how dreadful that I should forget!—­have you had a proper dejeuner?” she looked anxiously at Sylvia.

Sylvia laughed, and told something of her adventures at the Villa du Lac.

“The Villa du Lac?  I have heard of it, but surely it’s an extremely expensive hotel?  The place I’ve chosen for myself is farther away from the Casino; but the distance will force me to take a walk every day, and that will be a very good thing.  Last time I was at Monte Carlo I had a lodging right up in Monaco, and I found that a very much healthier plan than to live close to the Casino,” Anna spoke quite seriously.  “The Pension Malfait is really extraordinarily cheap for a place near Paris.  I am only going to pay fifty-five francs a week, tout compris!”