"When the jeweler walked back into the small roadside inn, his eyes swept the room carefully. But there was nothing obviously wrong, at least, not if you didn't know what to look for.
Caderousse, the innkeeper, still clutched the gold coins and paper money in his hands like they might vanish if he let go. His wife, La Carconte, plastered on her sweetest fake smile as their guest returned.
'Well, well,' the jeweler said with a knowing look, 'I see you've been double-checking your payment while I was gone. Worried I short-changed you?'
'Oh no, nothing like that!' Caderousse said quickly. 'It's just... this whole thing feels surreal, you know? We came into this money so unexpectedly that we can barely believe it's real. We have to keep looking at it to convince ourselves we're not dreaming.'
The jeweler smiled slightly. 'Do you have any other guests staying here tonight?'
