Bettina hasn't been paid lately either; since Master and the Lady found their circumstances diminished, it's been quiet around the Manor. She remembers the entrees of duck and hen, filets and savory shanks . . . now this.

She catches sight of herself in the mirror, and realizes that she's still a little high from the afternoon reefer she partook with the deliveryman. She could be fired for this. And then what? And THEN what? How could she be so STUPID? Surely Jeeves noticed; surely Jeeves will say something. And with the baby and all - oh, Lord, how has it come to this?

Buck up, she tells herself. Shoulders back. Eyes forward. We are Americans. We will get through this, by jiminy. Perhaps she'll get to go to the movies tonight; A "Golddiggers" movie is playing at the Trans-Lux. She'll fill up on popcorn. That always makes the hunger go away . . . for a while.