Catherine Blanchard was a wealthy young woman from the south of the United States, who inherited her family's industrial empire after the sudden death of her parents in an accident in the Swiss Alps in 1925 and skillfully managed to increase her fortune by investing in the New York Stock Exchange in the last 4 years, in addition to the fact that her companies grew exponentially thanks to the issuance of shares in the stock market in continuous boiling at that time.
She enjoyed an extremely privileged upbringing and attended the most exclusive private schools in Switzerland, Great Britain and France, so it was very common for her to spend a few months a year in the old continent, especially in the casinos of Monte Carlo where she enjoyed a good reputation as a gambler whose high stakes betting almost bankrupted more than one casino.
That autumn she headed for New York to pick up a Duesemberg SJ that LeBaron had specially fitted out and equipped for her according to very particular specifications that she herself had indicated.
Duesemberg fitted the powerful engine with a supercharger and a set of twin Stromberg carburetors, as well as a novel braking system with adjustable pressure to prevent any kind of lock-up in case of an emergency situation.
LeBaron elaborated a fine convertible body in the purest ArtDeco style painted in 2 tones; Emerald Green with black, with a large trunk capable of accommodating the Louis Vuitton trunks that Miss Blanchard would use in her travels, the interior was upholstered with fine materials such as imported "Corinthian Leather" from which emanated a delicious and fine aroma. The most skilled craftsmen achieved a work of art on wheels that would leave its demanding owner fascinated.
This ostentatious commissioned creation was the finest work to come out of the LeBaron facility to date, completely overshadowing the SJ Roadster they were about to deliver in a few hours to the famous movie star Douglas Fairbanks.
Catherine was extremely pleased with the work, she was taken to a luxurious room where she would wait drinking champagne and caviar while the employees arranged her luggage and made arrangements to load the car on an ocean liner bound for Paris, where she would do some shopping at the Channel Boutique and days later enjoy the City of Light. Catherine would drive along the blue coast and days later she would head for Monte Carlo where she planned to spend a fun stay in the casinos.
The cruise went pleasantly, Catherine elegantly rejected the constant male siege, she usually qualified these attempts of fortune hunters, nouveau riche whom she considered inferior, because she preferred to socialize only with people of noble ancestry and social positions that had been in the aristocracy for generations.
In Paris she was finally able to drive her brand new Duesemberg through the wide avenues of the city on her way to the Champs Elysées district, specifically to number 31 Avenue George-V, where the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel George-V had been located since the previous year, an establishment that satisfied Catherine's demands, always accustomed to the best and most exclusive regardless of the price, and where she was treated like a member of royalty.
Once installed and after a luxurious lunch at the hotel, she visited Channel's boutique to acquire a new and luxurious closet to match her demands and her beauty, for Miss Blanchard, besides being considerably talented and wealthy, was an extremely beautiful woman, with a monumental figure, black hair, large blue eyes, porcelain skin and fine features similar to the venus painted by Boticcelli.
After a few days in Paris, Catherine boarded her Duesemberg on her way to Monte Carlo. It was not at all common for a lady of high society to have such a taste for speed and Catherine, fascinated by this world, acquired skills with the best when she became part of a racing team in 1925, which even competed in Lemans a couple of times with Lorraine Dietrich cars, obtaining to conclude the hard test with a resounding victory in both editions of the race in 1925 and 1926.
For Catherine any challenge was accepted and she liked to win, perhaps that influenced the fact that she was single until she was 25 years old and when her parents died, the pressure for an arranged marriage would simply be nonexistent, she was enough to increase her fortune as well as to venture into things she was passionate about.
During part of the journey, a luxurious Hispano Suiza appeared and had a friendly and hard-fought duel of skill in the narrow curvy stretches, the Duesemberg roared fiercely and at times was in front of the Hispano Suiza, in a very sharp curve, this one took it on the outside gaining advantage, causing Catherine to moderate her speed to maintain control and let it get lost in the horizon.
Catherine was upset, she managed to control the understeer and blamed the rear weight caused by her luggage, she hated to lose and was willing to look for that car and find out who beat her in this improvised duel on wheels.
She finally arrived at her destination in Monte Carlo and stayed at the exclusive Hotel Casino Royale, where hours later while having a cocktail, she saw that Hispano Suiza arriving, minutes later someone from the administration informed her that it was Alfonso XIII Borbón. Monarch of the Spanish crown, who liked to enjoy his fast Hispano Suiza when he traveled.
Catherine was relieved to know that he was a king and not a common nouveau riche whom she viewed with such contempt and she would find a way to meet this monarch, perhaps at the gambling tables and thus she could get rid of the thorn after obtaining a victory.
Catherine got out of the bathtub and went to choose her outfit to go down to the casino, she had her lingerie and silk stockings ready, she put on her fine Italian shoes and in front of the mirror she combed her beautiful black hair, while she fed her vanity with her eyes, thinking of the great night she would spend, she put on one of the fine party dresses that Channel made especially for her and went to the casino.
She spent a few hours at the roulette with small bets, she had already won 10 thousand francs forgetting the other 5 thousand she lost in the process, she only cared about the winnings and forgot about the losses.
She walked around the casino for a few minutes looking for the King of Spain wishing to face him at the tables, soon she joined a Black Jack game where after a few hours, the one she wanted to see appeared and invited him to join the game.
Catherine by that time was already making bets with large sums, in that time she managed to have some considerable winnings, there was a lot of adrenaline running through her by then and she had a couple of years with the addiction to feel that way, she thought she was at her best.
The hours went by and the game continued, some hands were won by Alfonso and others by Catherine, the excitement increased and the money flowed in the game chips on that table, Catherine was raising her bets, she asked for cards, a king of spades appeared, then a 5 of diamonds, she was confident and raised the bet again putting all her chips on the table, the amount was the equivalent of a year's income of any of her factories.
