"A mouth too large for perfect beauty."
"A queenly bearing?"
"An irresistible dignity of manner."
"Jane-Ellen," said Crane, "I feel almost as if Miss Claudia Revelly were standing before me."
"Oh, indeed, sir, if it were she, it's you who would be standing," said the cook.
"For my part," said Crane, turning again to the table, "I had imagined her to myself as quite different. I had supposed her small, soft-eyed, with tiny hands and feet and a mouth—" He was looking at Jane-Ellen's mouth, as if that might give him an inspiration, when Reed interrupted.
"I regret to say, Mr. Crane," he said, "that if this conversation continues to deal disrespectfully with the appearance of a young lady for whom—"
"Disrespectfully!" cried Crane. "I assure you, I had no such intention. I leave it to you, Jane-Ellen, whether anything disrespectful was said about this young lady."
"It did not seem so to me, sir," answered the cook, with all her gentlest manner. "But," she added, glancing humbly at Reed, "of course, it would never do for a servant like me to be setting up my opinion on such a matter against a gentleman like Mr. Reed."
"What I mean is, if Miss Revelly were here, do you think she would object to anything we have said?"