"Oh, sir," Jane-Anne pleaded, "do look at the pictures. They're such beautiful ladies."
But Mr. Wycherly steadfastly averted his gaze from the offending magazine, exclaiming:
"Beautiful! My dear child, how can you apply that dignified and really expressive adjective to anything so dreadful? Have you ever seen any human being who in the least resembled the extremely indelicate creatures depicted in this paper?"
"No, sir, but I'd like to. They've all got such curly hair."
"Most of them," Mr. Wycherly said severely, "appear to wear very little else. We must show you some really beautiful pictures, Jane-Anne, and then perhaps you will realise the worthlessness of these."
She felt that it was an unpropitious moment for the introduction of "Magnolia Bloom toilet powder." Mr. Wycherly's attitude was strangely unsympathetic. Nevertheless she was full of tenacity of purpose, so she said, in what she was assured Bruey would have considered a "winning" voice:
"Please, sir, is there anything I could do to earn one-and-six?"
Mr. Wycherly laughed. "I think you have earned it many times over by all the things you do for me. Would you like it now?"
He took a handful of silver from his pocket and pushed the coins toward her, saying:
"I wish they were new ones. I always think all the new silver ought to be kept for boys and girls—but if you're in a hurry—perhaps you'd rather have it now."