e was afraid. She felt
defensive towards him, and explanatory. Under her attention all sorts of
impulses were at work. Pictures of Toby in different circumstances began
to flash into her mind, always blurring in an instant; while the memory
of her dinner with Gaga grew stronger and more remarkable. Not knowing
what she was doing, Sally pushed her work away, and sat in a brown
study, until she became aware that she was under observation.

Sally met these cruel stares with immediately assumed equanimity, and
she once more drew the work towards her; and in a few moments the girls
forgot Sally, and chattered a little together. And by the time their
attention was withdrawn wholly it was the luncheon interval which meant
more to all of them than usual, since it once more gave the girls an
opportunity for standing up and moving about. They grouped, and went
slowly towards the room where they always ate; and Sally was able to
open the other door for an instant, only to discover that Madam's room
was empty. With a sinking heart she followed the others, again beset by
a loss of confidence.

In the afternoon she was sent out by Miss Summers to match some silk,
and this gave Sally relief without which she must have ended the day
feeling ill. As it was she came back just as they were making tea, and
her own cup of tea sent the headache away. For the first time that day,
Sally heard herself laughing. She was telling Muriel of a fight between
two dogs, and how a man had been overthrown in the mud through trying to
part the dogs; and when Muriel laughed Sally laughed also, which made
the other girls prick up their ears and grow more lively. There was a
great change in the general atmosphere after tea. The constraint
disappeared, and everybody became more normal. Needles were more
adroitly used; the light improved; a general air of contentment arose.
Sally no longer thought of Toby, or of Gaga. She was making a dream for
herself, out of a motor car she had seen, and a handsome soldier, and
the way a commissionaire had stepped out of her way. She needed few
materials for her dream, and was a fine lady for the rest of the
afternoon.

Dreaming, however, has its penalties; and for this occasion Sally was
punished by having to stay rather late in order to finish what she was
doing. The other girls began to go home; but Sally and Miss Summers
remained at their tasks. The delay produced a strange experience for
Sally, because when they were