Masago threw her bare arms above her head, and paced the floor like some tortured being. Suddenly she turned upon the woman, crying out in an hysterical way:—
“Why do you stand and stare at me, woman! Oh-h! My head is throbbing, and my heart beats so—”
She covered her face with her hands. Swiftly the woman withdrew. In the next room she took her stand by the dividing shoji, watching the one within.
“She would treat me like the bird,” she said, “and it is dead.”
Masago called her shrilly, harshly.
“Woman! Maid! Do you not hear me calling?”
“I am here, princess!” said the woman, quietly, stepping back into the room.
“I cannot bear this gown to-night,” said Masago. “It suffocates me. It is ill-fitting.”
The woman patiently removed the gown, then waited for her mistress to command her further.
“Take them all off,” said the girl, in an irritated voice. “These and these.”