The morning-room occupied the whole front of the second floor, a beautiful room with three windows, the centre a large bow jutting out over empty space. This bow-window had been added when Mr. Fausset married, on a suggestion from his fiancée. It spoiled the external appearance of the house, but it made the room delightful. For furniture and decoration there was everything pretty, novel, eccentric, and expensive that Maud Fausset had ever been able to think of. She had only stopped her caprices and her purchases when the room would not hold another thing of beauty. There was a confusion of form and colour, but the general effect was charming; and Mrs. Fausset, in a loose white muslin gown, suited the room, just as the room suited Mrs. Fausset.
She was sitting in the bow-window, in a semicircle of flowers and amidst the noises of the West End world, waiting for her husband and the new-comer, nervous and apprehensive. The scarlet Japanese tea-table stood untouched, the water bubbling in the quaint little bronze tea-kettle, swinging between a pair of rampant dragons.
She started as the door opened, but kept her seat. She did not want to spoil the new-comer by an undue appearance of interest.
John Fausset came into the room, leading a pale girl dressed in black. She was tall for her age, and very thin, and her small face had a pinched look, which made the great black eyes look larger. She was a peculiar-looking girl, with an olive tint in her complexion which hinted at a lineage not altogether English. She was badly dressed in the best materials, and had a look of never having been much cared for since she was born.
“This is Fay,” said Mr. Fausset, trying to be cheerful.
His wife held out her hand, which the girl took coldly, but not shyly. She had an air of being perfectly self-possessed.
“Her name is Fay, is it? What a pretty name! By the bye, you did not tell me her surname.”
“Did I not? Her name is Fausset. She is a distant relation of my family.”
“I did not understand that last night,” said Mrs. Fausset, with a puzzled air. “You only talked of a friend.”
“Was that so? I should have said a family connection. Yes, Fay and I are namesakes, and kindred.”