"How well she is looking!" he mused.
The very thought startled him, as if some one had spoken unexpectedly. He wondered that he had noticed her appearance. After the window-sill blotted her from view he still wondered, dallying comfortably with the reverie.
IV
There was a knock at his door and in response to his call the door opened—and she stood there.
"May I come in?" she said.
"Certainly."
Before he knew it some impulse of gallantry hoisted him to his feet. He lifted a bundle of archeological reviews from a chair close to his desk and waited until she sat down. The chair was nearer his than he realized, and as Professor Binley dropped into it she was so close that Professor Litton pushed his spectacles up to his forehead.
It was the first time she had seen his eyes except through glasses darkly. She noted their color instantly, woman-like. They were not dull, either, as she had imagined. A cloying fragrance saluted his nostrils.
"What are the flowers you are wearing, may I ask?" he said. He hardly knew a harebell from a peony.
"These are hyacinths," she said. "One of the girls gave them to me. I just pinned them on."