tuff, which
obeyed and emphasised the lines and outlines of her body; and, as she
stood, with her arms upraised, composedly aware of being observed, they
could see the line of her side rising and falling with the rise and
fall of each breath. Otherwise, she wore a large black hat, with
feathers and an overhanging brim, which threw shadows on her face, and
made her eyes seem darker than ever.

Letting her arms drop with a sigh of relief, she shook hands with Dove,
and Dove--to Madeleine's diversion and Maurice's intense
disgust--introduced Maurice to her as his friend. She looked full at
the latter, and held out her hand; but before he could take it, she
withdrew it again, and put both it and her left hand behind her back.

"No, no," she said. "I mustn't shake hands with you to-day. Today is
Friday. And to give one's hand for the first time on a Friday would
bring bad luck--to you, if not to me."

She was serious, but both the others laughed, and Maurice, having let
his outstretched hand fall, coloured, and smiled rather foolishly. She
did not seem to notice his discomfiture; turning to Madeleine, she
began to speak of a piece of music she wished to borrow; and then
Maurice had a chance of observing her at his ease, and of listening to
her voice, in which he heard all manner of impossible things. But while
Madeleine, with Dove's assistance, was looking through a pile of music,
Louise came suddenly up to him and said: "You are not offended with me,
are you?" She had a low voice, with a childish cadence in it, which
touched him like a caress.

"Offended? I with you?" He meant to laugh, but his voice shook.

She stared at him, openly astonished, not only at his words, but also
at the tone in which they were said; and the strange, fervent gaze bent
on her by this man whom she saw for the first time in her life,
confused her and made her uneasy. Slowly and coldly she turned away,
but Madeleine, who was charitably occupying Dove as long as she could,
did not take any notice of her. And as the young man continued to stare
at her, she looked out of the window at the lowering grey sky, and
said, with a shudder: "What a day for June!"

All eyes followed hers, Maurice's with the rest; but almost instantly
he brought them back again to her face.

"Louise is a true Southerner," said Madeleine; "and is wretched if
there's a cloud in the sky."

Louise smiled, and he saw her strong white teeth. "It's not quite as
bad as that,"