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course.’ Gerald pulled out his wallet. The woman’s eyes bulged at the bankroll.
    â€˜Can you change a hundred?’ asked Gerald.

    On the footpath outside, Gerald tore off the plastic wrap and pulled a bespoke Saville Row dinner jacket off the hanger. It was lined in a deep-purple silk.
    â€˜What’s in the envelope?’ Sam asked.
    â€˜Ooh, let me,’ Felicity said. She took the envelope from Gerald and tore it open. She pulled out a set of keys on a large silver fob. There was ornate engraving on one side.
    â€˜The Palladium Apartments,’ Felicity read. She tossed the keys to Gerald.
    Ruby clicked her tongue. ‘An old jacket and some house keys. Well, that’s cracked the case wide open.’
    Gerald held the jacket up and looked at Ruby. She glared back at him.
    â€˜Here, Felicity,’ he said. ‘Try it on for size.’
    Felicity slid her arms inside the sleeves and wrapped the pure merino warmth around her. ‘Oh, this is so cosy,’ she said, smiling brightly. She folded up the cuffs to above her wrists. ‘Thank you, Gerald.’
    Ruby narrowed her eyes.
    Gerald glared straight back at her. ‘The least I could do,’ he said. ‘For my girlfriend.’
    If the temperature around Ruby had dropped any lower it would have started to snow.

Chapter 5
    T he moment Gerald walked into the Fairmont Hotel lounge, he spied his old school friend from Sydney.
    â€˜Ox!’ Gerald threw his arms around a stout lad of about fourteen and wrapped him in an enormous hug. ‘How’re you going?’
    Ox stood there for an awkward moment, his arms by his side. ‘Uh, this is all very European,’ he said, squirming to free himself. ‘You do this to all the boys you know?’
    Gerald laughed. ‘Only the ugly ones,’ he said. He looked at Ox for a few seconds, studying him. He hadn’t seen him in six months. Then he gathered him up in another bear hug. ‘The really ugly ones!’
    Ox raised his eyes to the ceiling. ‘Gerald,’ he said. ‘I would like you to release me as this is making me uncomfortable.’
    Gerald looked at his friend in surprise. ‘Excuse me?’
    Ox cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. ‘You are invading my personal space and I would like you to respect my wishes please.’
    Gerald released his grip and took a step backwards. ‘Are you serious?’ he asked.
    Ox’s face broke into a broad grin. ‘See! It works. How amazing is that?’
    â€˜What are you talking about?’
    â€˜My assertiveness training,’ Ox said. ‘People in the know call it A.T.’
    â€˜Do they?’
    â€˜Oh yes. My mum booked me into some self- confidence classes so I can be more comfortable around girls. You remember how hopeless I was trying to talk to them.’
    Gerald remembered. Even by his own rubbish standards when it came to dealing with girls, Ox brought new meaning to the word ‘useless’.
    â€˜The classes have been fantastic,’ Ox said. ‘It turns out I was rude to girls because I was nervous around them. But the instructor has taught me a bunch of ways to relax and act natural whenever they’re around. I can talk to girls now like they’re normal people. You remember Madeleine from our history class?’
    Gerald’s eyes bulged. He once had a major crush on Madeleine. But she hadn’t responded all that well to his drawing of him rescuing her from a fire-breathing dragon.
    â€˜You didn’t ask Madeleine out, did you?’ Gerald stared at Ox in awe.
    â€˜Of course I did,’ Ox said, with a smug grin.
    â€˜What did she say?’
    â€˜She said she wouldn’t be seen dead with me unless I was the last human being on earth.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    â€˜But that’s good,’ Ox said.
    â€˜How is that good?’
    â€˜When I asked her the time before that she gave me a flat “no”. So