“Ah, Julia,” said he, tenderly taking her hand in his; “there are some things beyond reason. Take ourselves. The reasons why a certain little woman finds reasons for not being reasonable—oh, bother!”
The door shut with a loud slam, and Noll came into the room, trailing the office broom after him.
“I say, Julia,” he said; “it’s very soothing and nice, but there’s some one coming.”
He shot the broom into a corner, and vaulted on to his high stool, as Julia put herself as far from Netherby as the office would allow.
Footsteps came to the door.
CHAPTER III
Wherein Master Oliver comes to the Conclusion that, to complete the Dramatic Picture, Greatness should have known the Hair-Shirt and the Makeshifts of Adversity.
The door swung open, and a handsome woman of about thirty walked into the dingy room. She was possessed of that calm and the fresh easy manner and movement that come of generations of women who have exacted respect from their fellows—and given it.