His sarcastic
lips were firm and quick, and he looked at people with disconcerting
straightness. The young girl wore a blue-green frock. Her face was
charming, with eager, hazel-grey eyes, a bright colour, and fluffy hair
the colour of ripe nuts.
"That's your sister's picture, 'The Shadow,' they're looking at, isn't
it?" asked Mrs. Tallents Smallpeace. "I remember seeing it on Christmas
Day, and the little model who was sitting for it--an attractive type!
Your brother-in-law told me how interested you all were in her. Quite a
romantic story, wasn't it, about her fainting from want of food when she
first came to sit?"
Cecilia murmured something. Her hands were moving nervously; she looked
ill at ease.
These signs passed unperceived by Mrs. Tallents Smallpeace, whose eyes
were busy.
"In the F.H.M.P., of course, I see a lot of young girls placed in
delicate positions, just on the borders, don't you know? You should
really join the F.H.M.P., Mrs. Dallison. It's a first-rate thing--most
absorbing work."
The doubting deepened in Cecilia's eyes.
"Oh, it must be!" she said. "I've so little time."
Mrs. Tallents Smallpeace went on at once.
"Don't you think that we live in the most interesting days? There are
such a lot of movements going on. It's quite exciting. We all feel
that we can't shut our eyes any longer to social questions.
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