“I was to tell you, Miss Willis, that there is no occasion for Dr. Leonard to see you himself to-day. If you please, Dr. Carter will fill your engagement.”
Miss Willis did not please. It was quite clear that she regarded this arrangement with considerable disfavor.
“You may inform Dr. Leonard that I shall not wait,” she said coldly. “If I am so far improved that I do not require his personal attention, I shall not come again.”
With that, she turned decisively to leave. The maid followed her, hesitantly, to the door, and Miss Willis could not repress a smile at the girl’s consternation. The situation had ended in an altogether unexpected manner. And then, in the next instant, it became manifest that, 396 however absolute Dr. Leonard might be, it was not a part of the maid’s duties to discourage those who would seek his services. She was emboldened to protest.
“Just try him, please, Miss Willis,” in a nervous murmur; “he––truly––he’s––”
The assurance was left unfinished; but the speaker’s flurry revealed her predicament, and Miss Willis smiled encouragement.
“Very well,” she returned graciously.
The maid gave her a grateful look and conducted her though several rooms, all in accord with the sumptuous reception-room, to a tiny private office, where she opened the door and stood respectfully on one side.
The visitor’s submissive mood all at once vanished. She stared resentfully at the cramped quarters, and entered reluctantly, as if with a feeling of being thrust willy-nilly into a labelled pill-box. A man was writing at a desk in a corner, and he continued writing.
“Take a chair, please,” he said crisply, without looking up. And this was the only sign to indicate that he was aware that his privacy had been invaded. 397