"You speak shortly, Miss Caldwell. It would have been more polite to have mentioned my name."
"I beg your pardon, Miss Bey," Beth rejoined.
Miss Bey bowed with a severe smile in acknowledgment of the apology. "What do you want upstairs?" she asked.
"To be alone," Beth answered. "I can't stand the noise."
"You must stand the noise," said Miss Bey. "Girls are not allowed to go upstairs without some very good reason; and they must always ask permission—politely—from the teacher on duty. I am the teacher on duty at this moment. If you had gone upstairs without permission, I should have given you a bad mark."
Beth looked longingly at the hall door, which had glass panels in the upper part, through which she could see the river and the trees. "What a prison this is!" she exclaimed.
Miss Bey had had great experience of girls, and her sharp manner, which was mainly acquired in the effort to maintain discipline, somewhat belied her kindly nature.
"You can bring a chair from the hall, and sit here beside me, if you like," she said to Beth.
"Thank you," Beth answered. "This is better," she said when she was seated. "May I talk to you?"
"Yes, certainly," said Miss Bey.