Sir Isaac’s silhouette was obstinate.
“She knows her business,” he said.
He seemed to feel the need of a justification. “They shouldn’t make trouble.”
On that they rested for a little while in silence. She began to realize with a gathering emotion that this matter was far more crucial than she had supposed. She had been thinking only of the reinstatement of Alice Burnet, she hadn’t yet estimated just what that overriding of Mrs. Pembrose might involve.
“I don’t want to have any girl go until I have looked into her case. It’s——It’s vital.”
“She says she can’t run the show unless she has some power.”
Neither spoke for some seconds. She had the feeling of hopeless vexation that might come to a child that has wandered into a trap. “I thought,” she began. “These hostels——”
She stopped short.
Sir Isaac’s hand tightened on the arm of his chair. “I started ’em to please you,” he said. “I didn’t start ’em to please your friends.”
She turned her eyes quickly to his grey up-looking face.