CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| CHAPTER I | [1] |
| CHAPTER II | [15] |
| CHAPTER III | [29] |
| CHAPTER IV | [45] |
| CHAPTER V | [70] |
| CHAPTER VI | [91] |
| CHAPTER VII | [110] |
| CHAPTER VIII | [129] |
| CHAPTER IX | [144] |
| CHAPTER X | [159] |
| CHAPTER XI | [176] |
| CHAPTER XII | [192] |
| CHAPTER XIII | [205] |
| CHAPTER XIV | [217] |
| CHAPTER XV | [231] |
| CHAPTER XVI | [244] |
| CHAPTER XVII | [262] |
| CHAPTER XVIII | [274] |
| CHAPTER XIX | [292] |
| CHAPTER XX | [307] |
| CHAPTER XXI | [320] |
TRUTHFUL JANE
CHAPTER I
Miss Jane Evelyn Aubrey-Blythe stared steadily at the toes of her damp, shabby little boots which peeped out from beneath the hem of an equally damp and shabby gown, her youthful brows puckered thoughtfully over a pair of extraordinarily bright, long-lashed hazel eyes. Miss Blythe, was for the moment, feeling very much out of it, and consequently very unhappy.
The room in which she was sitting, drying her damp boots and petticoats by a smoldering fire of logs, was a sufficiently cheerful one, its two large windows commanding a wide view of red-tiled London roofs and glazed chimney-pots, all of which glistened wetly in the dull light of the late afternoon. For the rest, the red Turkey carpet was badly worn in spots; the chairs presented the appearance of veterans staunchly surviving a long and stormy career; while the two small desks piled with dog-eared school-books exhibited tokens of strenuous usage in the shape of ineradicable ink-stains, which served to diversify the cuttings and carvings of inexpert jackknives, stealthily applied.
At opposite sides of a table in the center of the room two small boys in knickerbockers were actively engaged in a competition in which large china mugs of milk and water, and thick slices of bread and butter and jam figured conspicuously.