heard voices in the shop. Mr. Lennox had come in bringing two men with him,
Joe Mortimer, the low comedian, and young Montgomery, the conductor; and it
became difficult to prevent Hender from listening at the doors, and almost
useless to remind her of the fact that there were children present, so
excited did she become when she spoke of Bret's love affairs.

But at six o'clock she put on her hat, and there was no dissuading her;
Mrs. Barnes must wait for her dress. There was still much to be done, and
when Mrs. Ede called from the kitchen that tea was ready, Kate did not at
first answer, and when at last she descended she remained only long enough
to eat a piece of bread and butter. Her head was filled with grave
forebodings, that gradually drifted and concentrated into one fixed
idea--not to disappoint Mrs. Barnes. Once quite suddenly, she was startled
by an idea which flashed across her mind, and stopping in the middle of a
'leaf,' she considered the question that had propounded itself. Lodgers
often make love to their landladies; what would she do if Mr. Lennox made
love to her? Such a thing might occur. An expression of annoyance
contracted her face, and she resumed her sewing. The hours passed slowly
and oppressively. It was now ten o'clock, and the tail had still to be
bound with braid, and the side strings to be sewn in. She had no tape by
her, and thought of putting off these finishing touches till the morning,
but plucking up her courage, she determined to go down and fetch from the
shop what was required. The walk did her good, but it was hard to sit down
to work again; and the next few minutes seemed to her interminable: but at
last the final stitch was given, the thread bitten off, and the dress held
up in triumph. She looked at it for a moment with a feeling of pride, which
soon faded into a sensation of indifference.

All the same her day's labour was over; she was now free. But the thought
carried a bitterness: she remembered that there was no place for her to go