“Are you the housekeeper?”
“Yes,” in a forbidding tone.
“Do you need any chambermaids?” She gave the girl an appraising look. She seemed to suspend judgment temporarily.
“Why, yes,” she replied ungraciously, “I do need a steady girl. Are you a floater?”
“No, I’m not a floater,” was the quick reply suggested to the girl. The housekeeper looked skeptical, but went on.
“Where’ve you worked?”
“—— in Albany.”
“Oh,” and she registered faint satisfaction, “that’s the same management as this hotel,” then, hardening again, “and did you get tired of that?”
“Oh, no,” replied the candidate, quick to get her cue, “I liked it. I had to leave when we moved away from there.” The housekeeper was mollified.
“You live here now?”