"I shall get tea when I reach home," she murmured, "and I'm rather late."
"Oh, let me invite an actress to tea! Do, please! It will be the next best thing to getting a part."
"You're very kind. I don't mind, I'm sure. There's a place close by where they give you a pot for two for fourpence. You're American, aren't you?"
"I've lived in America; I'm English really."
They were soon seated at a table. Mamie ordered a pot of tea, and muffins.
"It's nice and warm in here," she said.
"Isn't it! I noticed you in the office. My name is Mabel Forbes; but I daresay you heard Passmore speak to me?"
"Yes; he didn't speak very nicely, did he?"
"They never do; they're all alike. They know we can't do without them, and they treat us like dirt. I tell you, it's awful; you don't know what you're letting yourself in for, my dear."
"To succeed I'd bear anything, all the snubs and drudgery imaginable. I do know; I know it's not to be avoided. I've read the biographies of so many great actresses. I should think of the future—the reward. I'd set my teeth and live for that time; and I'd work for it morning, noon, and night."