re was employment in prospect she
thought she had earned the right to a little relaxation. Gaiety was
all about her, the very air of this holiday place held the suggestion
of it like a pervading perfume. Consequently, when she had roamed
about for an hour and finally gravitated towards the Croisette, the
temptation came upon her to satisfy her longing for tea in some place
where she could look upon the care-free world that flocked here to
play. Not that she belonged to that world, heaven knows!--though,
travelling de luxe with patients, as she often did, she knew a good
deal about it, and it was always fun to pretend for a brief time that
she did not have to work for her living.

The huge room was filling rapidly; it was the hour of the _the
dansant_. An orchestra, rich with saxophones, played a waltz that
everyone in France was singing. It was from the latest musical success
now running in Paris, and it pleased Esther to think she had seen the
piece itself, ten days ago: it made her feel herself _au courant_ of
things new and smart. Leaning back in her chair she listened to the
insidious little tune that grew more captivating with each repetition,
meanwhile letting her eyes wander happily over the circling figures of
the dancers. Glamour overspread the scene; she was in the mood to see
only the gracious and gay. For the moment the obvious boredom of
confirmed pleasure-seekers escaped her entirely; the efforts of spoiled
youth and jaded old age to escape from themselves had no place in the
pattern of the life she saw before her. No, on the contrary, as she
gazed through half-closed eyes, she fancied she saw a multi-coloured
bed of flowers--flowers in rhythmic motion, that was all. Delicious
frocks, swirling, floating, delicate shades of rose, mauve,
periwinkle-blue, accents of black, graceful bodies, slender legs and
ankles ... not all so slender, she amended presently, becoming more
critical. There were lower extremities of the grand-piano type, and
short, fat feet with a look of pincushions resolutely stuffed into
shoes.

Her own slender, well-shod feet would do more than pass muster here,
she reflected with satisfaction. Indeed, although she was more plainly
dressed than most of the women present, she rejoiced to feel she did
not suffer too much by comparison. Esther was never dowdy. She was
not ashamed of her well-tailored coat and skirt, marron in
colour--which went well with her eyes and hair--nor