"So how'd things go with Pamela."
"Okay, I think. I put my hand on her thigh."
"Did she punch you?"
"No."
"That sounds promising."
"She wasn't wearing panties."
"That sounds very promising."
"During the Casino scene, I whispered 'Domenico Scarlatti' in her ear. She blushed slightly, put her hand on mine and..." Albert next describes an activity which most people would interpret as a signal from Pamela that she welcomes the possibility of sexual intercourse.
"It sounds like she welcomes the possibility of sexual intercourse."
"Yes, I believe she does."
"When do you see her again?"
"I've asked her to pose for me at the fortepiano in the Music Library."
"Gee, what a great idea for a date." Actually, Roderick thinks it's a terrible idea for a date, but he figures Albert needs encouragement.
Later in the morning, Mr. Rothschild pauses in his History of Banking lecture to comment on the election and how it impacts the economy.
"We use the word 'economy' as a metaphor for the combined independent activity of millions of people around the world. We try to measure this activity -- imperfectly -- through such things as GDP, price indices and so forth.
"But the economy is like the weather. We can track and forecast with some level of precision, but nobody knows how to make 'the economy' better for everyone. Economists and others have opinions about what policies will make everyone better off, but nobody knows how to make everyone better off without making some people worse off.
"I know that some of you are disappointed that your guy lost the election, but consider this: in debates about government policy, advocates make claims that 'the economy' will be better if their ideas are adopted. Keep in mind that none of those claims are verifiable even if the policies are implemented, since we can never know how 'the economy' would have performed if a different policy were implemented.
"There is no science of economic policy. There are simply interests, and alternative policies affect those interests in different ways. Will we be better off with low taxes or high taxes? Nobody knows. But you can bet that those who advocate high taxes will be better off if that policy is implemented, and vice-versa."
This is Mr. Rothschild's slightly convoluted way to say that 'politicians are gasbags.'
Later, in the Music Library, Pamela sits at the fortepiano while Albert sketches. Owing to the absence of privacy, they both retain their clothes.
Albert slips onto the fortepiano bench next to Pamela, puts his arm around her and whispers: "Maybe we should go back to my room and listen to Domenico Scarlatti?"
Pamela's heart goes thumpity-thump. But she remembers some advice from Molly and Anna. "And maybe you should take a cold shower, Mr. Casanova," she says, tartly.
Albert groans. "Are we really going to drag this out?"
Pamela smiles. "We have two weeks. You can wait that long, can't you?"
Meanwhile, in Stapleton, Megan sits in the waiting room of Dr. Graft, the plastic surgeon. She reads the latest issue of Slut magazine.
In a world of extreme makeovers where human bodies are now fashioned to order, this may be the ultimate plastic surgery. It is called hymen restoration — a relatively simple procedure that stitches back together what a moment of passion might have shattered.Megan wonders if it still works when the moments are measured in hundreds.
