od, very good,' cried Carrel. '_Magnifique._ Mademoiselle, you
have a beautiful voice. You will be a great success at Vichy.'

'Vichy?' echoed Victoria, a little overwhelmed by his approval of a
voice which she knew to be quite ordinary.

'Yes, I have a troupe to sing and dance at Vichy and in the towns,
Clermont Ferrand, Lyon, everywhere. I will engage you to sing and
dance,' said Carrel, his dark eyes sparkling.

'Oh, I can't dance,' cried Victoria despairingly.

'But I assure you, it is not difficult,' said Carrel. 'We will teach
you. There, I will show you the contract. As you have not had much
experience my syndicate can only pay you one hundred and fifty francs a
month. But we will pay the expenses and the costumes.'

Victoria looked doubtful for a moment. To sing, to dance, to go to
France where she had never been, all this was sudden and momentous.

'_Voyons_,' said Carrel, 'it will be quite easy. I am taking four
English ladies with you and two do not understand the theatre. You will
make more money if the audience like you. Here is the contract.' He drew
a printed sheet out of the drawer and handed it to her.

It was an impressive document with a heavy headline; _Troupe de Theatre
Anglaise_. It bore a French revenue stamp and contained half-a-dozen
clauses in French which she struggled through painfully; she could only
guess at their meaning. So far as she could see she was bound to sing
and dance according to the programme which was to be fixed by the
_Directeur_, twice every day including Sundays. The _syndicat_ undertook
to pay the railway fares and to provide costumes. She hesitated, then
crossed the Rubicon.

'Fill in the blanks, please,' she said unsteadily. 'I accept.'

Carrel took up a pen and wrote in the date and _cent cinquante francs_.
'What name will you adopt?' he asked, 'and what is your own name?'

Victoria hesitated. 'My name is Victoria Fulton,' she said. 'You may
call me . . . Aminta Ormond.'

Carrel smiled once more. 'Aminta Ormond? I do not think you will like
that. It is not English. It is like Amanda. No! I have it, Gladys
Oxford, it is excellent.'

Before she could protest he had begun writing. After all, what did it
matter? She signed the document without a word.

'_Voila_,' said Carrel smoothly, locking the drawer on the contract. 'We
leave from Charing Cross on Wednesday evening. So you have two days to
prepare yourself. _Monsieur le Directeur_ will meet you under the c