Two days later a cab
deposited at the lodge Miss May, and her dress-basket, and her
travelling-bag, and her holdall, together with certain loose periodicals
and a volume or two bearing the yellow label of Mudie. The young lady was
well dressed in a severely practical way; nothing unduly feminine marked
her appearance, and in the matter of collar and necktie she inclined to the
example of the other sex; for all that, her soft complexion and bright
eyes, her well-turned figure and light, quick movements, had a picturesque
value which Miss May certainly did not ignore. She manifested no excess of
feeling when her mother and sister came forth to welcome her; a nod, a
smile, an offer of her cheek, and the pleasant exclamation, 'Well, good
people!' carried her through this little scene with becoming dignity.
'You will bring these things inside, please,' she said to the driver, in
her agreeable head-voice, with the tone and gesture of one who habitually
gives orders.
Her father, bent with rheumatism, stood awaiting her just within. She
grasped his hand cordially, and cried on a cheery note, 'Well, father, how
are you getting on? No worse than usual, I hope?' Then she added, regarding
him with her head slightly aside, 'We must have a talk about your case.
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