Beatrice sits down again on the arm of the sofa, and resigns herself to her fate; but she looks rather annoyed and vexed about it.
Mrs. Romer paces the room feverishly and impatiently.
"What did you think of Miss Nevill?" asks Beatrice.
"I could hardly see her in her hat and that thick veil; but she looked as if she were handsome."
"She is beautiful!" says Beatrice, emphatically, "and uncle Tom says——"
"Hush!" interrupts Helen, hurriedly. "Is not that the sound of wheels?—Yes, it is the carriage."
She flies to the door.
"Take care, Helen," says Beatrice, anxiously; "don't open the door wide, don't let the servants think we have been waiting, it looks so bad—so—so unlady-like."
But Helen Romer does not even hear her; she is listening intently to the approaching sounds, with the half-opened door in her hand.
The tea-room door opens into a large inner hall, out of which leads the principal staircase; the outer or entrance-hall is beyond; and presently the stopping of the carriage, the opening and shutting of doors from the servants' departments, and all the usual bustle of an arrival are heard.