"No, indeed, poor dear!" responded Mrs. Tracy, with feeling. "You look much more suited for it," she added, not without a touch of satire.
But Salome was unconscious of the satire. She received her mother's words as complimentary. She prided herself on the extreme simplicity of her dress, and the contrast it presented to the general mode. She liked to think that she was not as other women. To her the word fashionable appeared quite synonymous with sinful. She believed the attitude she maintained towards the world and its fashions to be indicative of a superior mind and character. It cost her no self-denial to refrain from wearing pretty things, for she had little taste for these; nor did it pain her to be considered odd. She had her reward in many a glow of self-esteem, many a proud, complacent reflection upon her own heroic, martyr-like fortitude.
Juliet had little to say, as she and her sister walked to the railway station. She responded so briefly to the remarks made by Hannah that the latter concluded she was "sulky."
As soon as they had taken their places in the train, Hannah, who had a horror of wasting time, unrolled a copy of the "Educational Times," with which she had provided herself for this opportunity, and read intently till the train stopped at Hampstead station. Once or twice she glanced at Juliet, who had seated herself at the farther end of the compartment, which they had to themselves. Juliet appeared to be absorbed in contemplating her gloves. Hannah was shortsighted, and she failed to see that Juliet's right hand held a tiny penknife, with which she was carefully opening the seams of the glove on her other hand just at the tips of the fingers. Nor did she observe that Juliet afterwards gave some attention to her boots.
The house for which they were bound was at some little distance from the station, and Hannah experienced difficulty in finding the way. She was anxious to be punctual to the hour Mrs. Campbell had named, and as she hurried along, she gave little heed to Juliet; but she was aware that whilst she was growing worried and impatient, Juliet's mood had taken the reverse change. Her sulkiness had vanished. She took an amiable interest in her sister's perplexities, spoke brightly, and even made humorous observations on the persons and places they passed—a sure sign she was in a good humour. Hannah marvelled, but congratulated herself on the transition.
They reached the house very little behind time. As she stood on the doorstep and rang the bell, Hannah turned to make a critical survey of Juliet.
"Why, Juliet," she exclaimed, in a tone of dismay, "there's a button gone from the front of your frock! How very careless of you to come out like that!"
"So there is!" said Juliet. "And it has not been off long," she added, raising her hands to the spot where the loose threads hung, and examining it with an air of scientific interest. The action brought her gloves full into Hannah's view, and she exclaimed in horror as she saw their condition—
"Juliet, how could you put on such gloves? I declare there is every finger showing! They are perfectly disgraceful."
"Now you mention it, they do look rather bad," said Juliet, as though the idea would not have occurred to her unprompted.