Before he subsided into a chair near Mr Milburn
he grasped the collar of his dress coat on each side and
drew it forward, a trick he had with his gown in court,
a nervous and mechanical action. Dora, who continued to
play, watched him over the piano with an amusement not
untinged with malice. She was a tall fair girl, with
several kinds of cleverness. She did her hair quite
beautifully, and she had a remarkable, effective, useful
reticence. Her father declared that Dora took in a great
deal more than she ever gave out--an accomplishment, in
Mr Milburn's eyes, on the soundest basis. She looked
remarkably pretty and had remarkably good style, and as
she proceeded with her mazurka she was thinking, "He has
never been asked here before: how perfectly silly he must
feel coming so early!" Presently as Lorne grew absorbed
in talk and forgot his unhappy chance, she further
reflected, "I don't think I've ever seen him till now in
evening dress; it does make him a good figure." This went
on behind a faultless coiffure and an expression almost
classical in its detachment; but if Miss Milburn could
have thought on a level with her looks I, for one, would
hesitate to take any liberty with her meditations.
However, the bell began to ring with the briefest
intermissions, the maid in the cap to make constant
journeys.
Pages:
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85