“Kate! Kate! Kate! Kate!”

She listened.

“Have the chintz curtains in the white room folded,” she could hear her say, “and remember what I said about the carpet....”

Dear soul!

Miss Sinquier sniffed.

Was it a tear.

Dear soul! Dear souls...!

“Never mind,” she murmured, “they shall have sofas in their box on the night of my début....”

She consoled herself with the thought.