His childhood was pampered, and even as a penniless exile he had contacts enough to get into the restaurant trade in Piccadilly, rather than Portsmouth.
The story is a bit of fluff, its charming characters engaged in a mix-up so contrived it beggars even theatrical suspension of disbelief: The penniless Count and Countess Waldner hope to marry their daughter Arabella to a wealthy man, and since they can't afford to launch younger daughter Zdenka into society at the same time, they have her dress as a boy.