the—the staff car. Next time I’ll be careful not to miss it!”
“That’s all right,” he said softly.
Marianne, incredibly graceful in her tailored silk, smiled too sweetly.
“Next time—if there is another time—you might not be so fortunate as to have Monsieur Antoine and myself come along at precisely the right moment. So I really would be a little more attentive to rules and regulations, if I were you.”
Inside the hotel Toni ran into Pierre, who had just donned his white coat to reappear on duty.
He looked at her reproachfully.
“ What happened to you?” he demanded. “I tried to get them to wait for you, but it was no use. Ulrich is too anxious to please Mademoiselle Raveaux to wait even a second for one of us! But I did warn you, didn’t I?”
“Yes, I know, Pierre,” she answered, smiling at him penitently. “But once I got inside the hairdresser’s it took ages ... much longer than I thought. And when I got outside at last it was twenty minutes past four! I was horrified, but fortunately Monsieur Antoine came along and gave me a lift.”
“You were fortunate,” Pierre remarked. “Fortunate, also, not to be severely rebuked.” Then his eyes revealed how infinitely he appreciated her new hair-style. “I hardly recognised you when you came through the door. You look like one of the guests!”
But Toni didn’t feel like one of the guests when she was upstairs in her room, and having deposited her parcels on the bed she stood looking at them.
Mademoiselle Raveaux had succeeded in making her feel cheap and vulgar by comparison with her own soignee elegance. That remark about, “You’ll have to be a little more careful in future, won’t you?” had not failed to find its mark, and even her hairstyle struck her as vulgar when she studied herself in the mirror.
By comparison with Marianne—whose hair was always neatly coiled about her head, and looked like black silk when the sun shone on it—she might be any junior typist or shop assistant whose one aim was to look showy and attractive, rather than smart and chic.
But at least Antoine had been kind! For the first time since she had known him he had been really kind, and she could still feel that warm, friendly hand of his on her shoulder, pressing it a little, recommending her not to forget that she had had a good day!
In the morning the housekeeper again sent for her and told her that Mademoiselle Raveaux wished to see her in her private office.
Steeling herself, Toni prepared for another sharp criticism of her carelessness in missing the staff bus, but that was not what Marianne wished to see her about. Wearing another of her tailored silk dresses—this time in a sort of lavender-grey—and seated in a graceful attitude at her desk, with a large number of flower s in the room for a background, she eyed Toni intently.
“Yes; I think you will do very well,” she remarked, at the end of the survey. “Before there was a certain drabness about your appearance, which would hardly be likely to appeal to the customers; but now that you have had your hair done, and have gone in for that rather noticeable make-up, you should do excellently.” Toni stared at her.
Marianne helped herself to a cigarette from the silver box on her desk, and lighted it thoughtfully. Through the faint cloud of smoke she narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her.
“The dress is a very gay one, so now you have your opportunity to appear gay to some purpose !”
“I don’t understand,” Toni returned, puzzled. “For what purpose am I to appear gay?”
Marianne smiled at her slightly.
“It’s a good thing you had your hands attended to yesterday. That was one sensible thing you did. Well now,” relaxing gracefully, “you will get your dress from the linen-keeper. She keeps them amongst her stores, and I’ve no doubt she will be able to fit you out very adequately. Skirt, petticoats, blouse, frilly apron and so forth...”
Toni looked
“That’s all right,” he said softly.
Marianne, incredibly graceful in her tailored silk, smiled too sweetly.
“Next time—if there is another time—you might not be so fortunate as to have Monsieur Antoine and myself come along at precisely the right moment. So I really would be a little more attentive to rules and regulations, if I were you.”
Inside the hotel Toni ran into Pierre, who had just donned his white coat to reappear on duty.
He looked at her reproachfully.
“ What happened to you?” he demanded. “I tried to get them to wait for you, but it was no use. Ulrich is too anxious to please Mademoiselle Raveaux to wait even a second for one of us! But I did warn you, didn’t I?”
“Yes, I know, Pierre,” she answered, smiling at him penitently. “But once I got inside the hairdresser’s it took ages ... much longer than I thought. And when I got outside at last it was twenty minutes past four! I was horrified, but fortunately Monsieur Antoine came along and gave me a lift.”
“You were fortunate,” Pierre remarked. “Fortunate, also, not to be severely rebuked.” Then his eyes revealed how infinitely he appreciated her new hair-style. “I hardly recognised you when you came through the door. You look like one of the guests!”
But Toni didn’t feel like one of the guests when she was upstairs in her room, and having deposited her parcels on the bed she stood looking at them.
Mademoiselle Raveaux had succeeded in making her feel cheap and vulgar by comparison with her own soignee elegance. That remark about, “You’ll have to be a little more careful in future, won’t you?” had not failed to find its mark, and even her hairstyle struck her as vulgar when she studied herself in the mirror.
By comparison with Marianne—whose hair was always neatly coiled about her head, and looked like black silk when the sun shone on it—she might be any junior typist or shop assistant whose one aim was to look showy and attractive, rather than smart and chic.
But at least Antoine had been kind! For the first time since she had known him he had been really kind, and she could still feel that warm, friendly hand of his on her shoulder, pressing it a little, recommending her not to forget that she had had a good day!
In the morning the housekeeper again sent for her and told her that Mademoiselle Raveaux wished to see her in her private office.
Steeling herself, Toni prepared for another sharp criticism of her carelessness in missing the staff bus, but that was not what Marianne wished to see her about. Wearing another of her tailored silk dresses—this time in a sort of lavender-grey—and seated in a graceful attitude at her desk, with a large number of flower s in the room for a background, she eyed Toni intently.
“Yes; I think you will do very well,” she remarked, at the end of the survey. “Before there was a certain drabness about your appearance, which would hardly be likely to appeal to the customers; but now that you have had your hair done, and have gone in for that rather noticeable make-up, you should do excellently.” Toni stared at her.
Marianne helped herself to a cigarette from the silver box on her desk, and lighted it thoughtfully. Through the faint cloud of smoke she narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her.
“The dress is a very gay one, so now you have your opportunity to appear gay to some purpose !”
“I don’t understand,” Toni returned, puzzled. “For what purpose am I to appear gay?”
Marianne smiled at her slightly.
“It’s a good thing you had your hands attended to yesterday. That was one sensible thing you did. Well now,” relaxing gracefully, “you will get your dress from the linen-keeper. She keeps them amongst her stores, and I’ve no doubt she will be able to fit you out very adequately. Skirt, petticoats, blouse, frilly apron and so forth...”
Toni looked
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