She smiled at him as she passed an arm about the girl's narrow shoulders. "Yes, you can come back when it's ready. Come in here, dear! You will like to take off your things. How long have you been here?"
"Only five minutes," came the murmured answer; she thought it had a deprecating sound.
"You must be tired," she said kindly. "You came from town? How is it you are so late? Did you miss your train?"
"No, madam." Very nervously came the reply. The contrast between this and the boyish freedom of manner on the terrace a few seconds before would have been ludicrous if it had not been somehow pathetic.
She passed on, too considerate to press for details. "Take off your hat and coat, won't you? When we have had some tea I will take you to your room."
She was pleased to see that Charlie's protégé was garbed with extreme simplicity. Her fair hair, which had been closely shorn, was beginning to curl at the ends. She liked the delicate contrasting line of the black brows above the deep blue of the eyes. She noticed that the veins on the white temples showed with great distinctness.
"Sit down!" she said. "And now you must tell me what to call you. Your name is Antoinette, isn't it?"
"I'm generally called Toby," said the visitor in a very shy voice. "But you will call me—what you like."
"Would you like me to call you Toby?" Maud asked.
"Yes, please," said Toby with unexpected briskness.