Page 40 - The Gluckman Occasonal Number Nine

Into this breach of dashed expectations stepped a new contender
for the hand of the princess. He was a portly, balding, middle-aged
man dressed in very conservative but also very expensive clothing.
Bowing was difficult for him, and he did not seem to enjoy being an
actor in this public spectacle. The prize, however, must have seemed
to him worth the effort.
“Your Majesty, my name is Ulrich Uberfresser. I am a banker, one
of the biggest in Baublestein. The court has availed itself of my
services in the past—the nature of which I shall not describe, because
bankers are the very soul of discretion. Suffice it to say that I have a
keen appreciation of the object now gracing the neck of your
charming daughter. It cannot be valued at less than 5 million Baub, if
my eyes do not deceive me and the quality of the stones can be
authenticated by a third party trusted by us both. The significance of
the Rainbow Necklace, therefore, can be summed up in one word:
collateral.”