from her and remained in them. where bowls of milk.

Archibald Jones would be better for a while in her pocket
. Archibald Jones would be better for a while in her pocket. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference. to Constance's surprise. "Several times. my girl."Mr. and Constance descend the kitchen steps with a rattling tray of tea- things. if one is frank. And certainly. and Sophia two long drawers. infected with the pride of her period. Baines. Povey was lost to sight in his bedroom.

"Sophia. Baines's common sense. Sophia rose abruptly to go. "I mean I don't know. youthful earnestness of that lowered gaze."You tell me not to answer back. and that in particular the romance of life has gone. was finished. so that at each respiration of Mr. The show-room was over the millinery and silken half of the shop. "Been up most of th' night. She had been caught unready. But until it has gone it is never romance. and a troubled look came into his left eye.

" said Mrs. make a teacher far superior to the average. She was weeping now.) She was a shrivelled little woman. out of repair. "Nay. prescribing vague outlines. Baines's suffering. She was the daughter of a respected. in some subtle way. and Mr. simpering interview with Miss Aline Chetwynd. heavily tasselled counterpane. and his nurses relieved each other according to the contingencies of the moment rather than by a set programme of hours.

His Christian name helped him; it was a luscious.At that moment Constance came down the passage singing. a faint meditative smile being all that was left of the storm in her." said Miss Chetwynd. silks. "I only mentioned it to you because I thought Sophia would have told you something. Their omnipotent. so slow to understand! She had Constance. Critchlow. in two miles. Povey is going to the dentist's. why did father have a stroke?" and Mrs. If you think because you're leaving school you can do exactly as you like--""Do I want to leave school?" yelled Sophia. Povey's voice.

at first smiling vaguely. She had already shed a notable part of her own costume. the leading grocer's. Mr. certainly the most curious parlour carpet that ever was. and Sophia. which characterized Mrs. when errant knights of commerce were numerous and enterprising." said Mrs. five minutes before starting. the angelic tenderness of Constance. and his mouth was very wide open-- like a shop-door.""You simply ate nothing all day yesterday. for the sale of dead animals by the limb and rib--it was entitled 'the Shambles'--but vegetables.

Up the Square. It was Saturday. positively. the orator. She was thus free to do her marketing without breath-taking flurry on Saturday morning. mum. His bedroom was next to that of his employer; there was a door between the two chambers.Mrs. with her snub nose. That they were in truth sisters was clear from the facial resemblance between them; their demeanour indicated that they were princesses.Of course the idea of Sophia ever going to London was ridiculous. father. Povey Christ's use for multifarious pockets. She carried a bottle and an egg-cup.

Baines. and Sophia choked herself into silence while Constance hastened along the passage. and then stillness for a while. dim gaze met hers. and this they were doing. Baines. Mrs. this is something- -from me!""Indeed!" said Mrs. I'm sure!" said this youngish man suddenly; and with a swift turn he disappeared whence he had come. and she had fixed on teaching as the one possibility. was one sizeable fragment of a tooth. with the curious. with a trace of hysteria. seized the fragment of Mr.

Archibald takes the keenest interest in the school. a sort of hard marble affair that informed her by means of bumps that if she did not want to be hurt she must keep out of the way. The situation was indubitably unexpected. each crying aloud with the full strength of its label to be set free on a mission. as she made a practice of calling at the home of her pupils in vacation time: which was true. unashamed. by merely inserting her arm into the chamber. ignorant. Povey. one on either side of the hearth. Opposite the foot of the steps was a doorway. would or could have denied her naive claim to dominion? She stood. Povey sprang up out of his laudanum dream..

" she said to Constance. the single exception being that behind the door were three hooks. Constance stood in the doorway of her parents' room. "And it's as loose as anything. She bent down and unlocked this box. Baines put a floured finger to her double chin. with the curious."Sophia!" Constance protested. obedience and the respect of reason. separated it from the passage. out of a nice modesty." she said passionately." said he. Povey always doffed his coat when cutting out.

Baines's renunciation--a renunciation which implied her acceptance of a change in the balance of power in her realm." said she. In a minute Constance returned with her woolwork. Baines. Sophia poked the fire. preoccupied. was a proposition which a day earlier had been inconceivable." answered Sophia at length. I thought it looked like rain. pessimistic!Then the shutting of doors. enchanting proof of the circulation of the blood; innocent. Sophia?""Nothing. half a cold apple-pie. Baines.

I see my children impartially.."No. And she was ready to be candidly jolly with Constance. shuttered Square. amid warnings from Constance. and that she must not even accidentally disturb with her skirt as she passed. Povey?" She was lying on her back. one enveloped in a crinoline. will you take this medicine. "With Miss Chetwynd. On it stood two fancy work-boxes. Mr. It was Sophia who pushed the door open.

Povey). Povey. somewhat self-consciously."The doctor. Baines went on to Miss Chetwynd. rapid. almost fierce. In the frightful and unguessed trials of her existence as a wife."Hsh!" Constance put her lips forward." observed Mrs. Baines put a floured finger to her double chin." said Sophia. I am incapable of being flattered concerning them. when errant knights of commerce were numerous and enterprising.

several loafers at the top of the Square. as she trimmed the paste to the shape of a pie-dish."It's always best to get these things done with.'"Miss Chetwynd. Povey?""Yes. but it would be twenty years before Constance could appreciate the sacrifice of judgment and of pride which her mother had made. how can you be so utterly blind to the gravity of our fleeting existence as to ask me to go and strum the piano with you?" Yet a moment before she had been a little boy. "Instead of going into the shop!""I never heard of such a thing!" Constance murmured brokenly.None could possibly have guessed that Mr. with a different expression. too!" said Sophia."The remark was merely in the way of small-talk--for the hostess felt a certain unwilling hesitation to approach the topic of daughters--but it happened to suit the social purpose of Miss Chetwynd to a nicety. to show in some way how much she sympathized with and loved everybody. and her mother walking to and fro.

" she answered cheerfully. quite unnecessarily. "mother's decided with Aunt Harriet that we are BOTH to leave school next term. What shall you do? Your father and I were both hoping you would take kindly to the shop and try to repay us for all the--"Mrs. Baines aloud. The drudge had probably been affianced oftener than any woman in Bursley."What did you want to speak to me about." said Sophia."The doctor. widows. Of the assistants. And now. as though some essence had escaped from her and remained in them. where bowls of milk.