"I thought first of being a governess or a companion or getting into a public library or—things of that sort."
"Why not the stage? You're a good-looking girl, with a figure."
"I promised my father I wouldn't go on the stage. But, anyhow, I don't suppose I could have got on—an amateur like me. Every place in New York seems full up. And I have no training of any sort."
"
Just a young lady, eh?"
Win smiled. "I never thought of it as a profession—or a label."
He looked slightly puzzled, and when Mr. Meggison was puzzled by an employee, he was generally annoyed. This case seemed, however, to be an exception. He kept his temper, and even condescended to grin.
"I don't want you should think I'm asking all these questions because we have any fault to find with you," he said. "You've done very well. I always know what's going on all over the place. I keep track of everything in every department. I wouldn't be where I am if I wasn't up to that. I called you here partly to compliment you on your smartness in that little stunt of the first day. And you've gone on all right since, all right. These things don't get lost in the wash. But before I come to that I'm bound to tell you that the report's come up to me you're a spy."
He threw the cap at her in a way to make her jump if it fitted. But Win did not flinch. What she had overheard on the first day saved her now from a shock of surprise.
"I caught that word about me from one of the girls," she admitted frankly. "I wondered what made her think me a spy, and I'm wondering still."