The man at the desk turned to her, "Now, madam, what can we do for you? You can speak before Miss Ramsey—in fact, if you've come about an engagement, she might be able to give you some advice." Margaret glanced quickly at the woman and then round the ugly office, and as she did so a little of the glamour of the stage seemed to vanish. Only for a moment; then her courage came back, and hope, which is never fickle long to youth, stood by her. This office was not the stage, not even its threshold, she thought; it was only the little narrow street, dreary and ill-kept, that branched off from the main thoroughfare.
"You look as if you'd come from the country," Miss Ramsey said. Her voice showed a desire to be friendly.
"Yes, I've come from the country," Margaret answered. She turned to Mr. Baker again, "I want to go on the stage," she said, "and understood that you could give help and advice."
"Certainly," he said, in a business-like tone, and opened a book beside him. "We charge one guinea for entering your name."
She looked at him, and a smile came to her lips. "I want to know first what you can do for me," she answered, and Mr. Baker came to the conclusion that she was not such a fool as he had imagined.
"We can do everything for you, my dear young lady, but you must give us a reason for taking an interest in you. We don't give advice gratis—" the door opened and a man entered.
"Can you tell me," he asked, referring to a notebook, "where 'The Ticket of Leave Man' was played last, and whether Miss Josephine de Grey, who came out in the provinces last year, has had any engagements lately?"
Mr. Baker consulted two books from a shelf behind him and answered off-hand, "'Ticket of Leave Man,' Prince of Wales's Theatre, Harrogate, 22d last February, for a week. Miss Josephine de Grey played five nights at the Royalty this March; engagement came to an end in consequence of the non-success of the management."
"Thank you," the man said, put down a fee, and departed. The incident had its effect on Margaret.
"I will pay the guinea," she said. "Would you tell me how I am to begin?"