And laughing at his own joke, Mr. Chalcombe shuffled out of the room.
Juliet's cheeks were crimson as she sipped her tea, trying to look unconscious. Presently, glancing at Algernon Chalcombe, she perceived that he was gnawing his moustache savagely, and appeared much put out. Whereupon she reflected, not without sympathy, how trying a person of his refinement must find it to be saddled with such a parent.
"Have you really never been to a theatre, Juliet?" asked Flossie.
"Never," said Juliet, "and I do not suppose I ever shall."
"Oh, do not say that!" exclaimed Flossie. "How I wish you could go with us one, night! Father gets tickets for everything, you know."
And Algernon's expressive eyes said that he wished it too. But Juliet would not entertain such an idea for a moment. She rose to take her leave, and was not to be persuaded to stay longer.
As she hastened homewards at her quickest pace, her mind was in a strangely excited state. She knew that she might prepare to face a storm when she reached home, but she did not quail at the prospect. Her knowledge of the world seemed to have increased, and the horizon of her life to have widened with the experience of the afternoon. Her imagination played delightedly with words and looks which had been full of pleasant insinuation, as well as with the practical suggestions of Mr. Chalcombe senior. Her future seemed to be quite bewilderingly full of wonderful possibilities.
[CHAPTER IV]
CONTRITION
SALOME GRANT seated herself at the tea-table behind the steaming urn. The clock on the mantelpiece had just struck six, and six was the hour at which they took their evening meal. The fact that Juliet had not yet come in was no reason for delaying it. Salome prided herself on her punctuality. Juliet could hardly be said to know what punctuality meant.