Oh, it was good to see him again! For one moment Mona revelled in the thought of all they would have to say to each other, and then——
"My dear," said Miss Bonthron, "I think you have some little haberdashery-cases like this in your shop. How much do you think we might ask for it?"
Like the "knocking at the door in Macbeth," the words brought Mona back to a world of prose realities. With swift relentless force the recollection rushed upon her mind that the Sahib had come with the "county people" to honour the bazaar with his presence; while she was a poor little shop-girl, who had been asked to assist, partly as a great treat, and partly because of her skill in subtracting three-and-sixpence from the pound.
"Half-a-crown we price them. I think you might say three shillings here," she said, smiling; but deep down in her mind she was thinking, "Oh, I hope, I hope he won't notice me! Doris is bad enough, but picture the Sahib in the shop!" She broke into a little laugh that was half a sob, and her eyes looked suspiciously bright.
"Mona," said Doris, coming up to her suddenly, "somebody is looking very charming to-day, do you know?"
"Yes," said Mona boldly, flashing back the compliment in an admiring glance; "I have been thinking so all morning, whenever intervening crowds allowed me to catch a glimpse of her."
"I have been longing so to say to all the room, 'Do you see that bright young thing? She is a medical student!'"
"Pray don't!" said Mona, horrified. "My cousin would never forgive you—nor, indeed, for the matter of that, should I. How are you getting on?"
"My dear," was the reply, "I have sold more rubbish this morning than I ever even saw before. After all, the secret of success at bazaars lies solely in the fact that there is no accounting for taste!"
At this moment a customer claimed Mona's attention, and, when she looked up again, Doris was in earnest conversation with an elderly gentleman. Mona overheard something about "women's power."