"It is not very easy to be a competent moneylender's secretary and a shorthand writer."
"No—perhaps not."
"Mr. Livingston and Mr. Devereux will tell you that I did not make a failure of it."
"Really?"
Katherine was silent.
"Really," Lady Garribardine repeated again. "You mean that you think you can pick up things quickly."
"Yes."
"It is certainly an advantage. I hoped to find something exceptional when I advertised."
"Yes, I noticed that—and it was because your advertisement was unusual that I applied for the post."