the front door was opened to mrs. arb's quiet knock by the oldest child in the house, an obstreperous boy of five, who was suddenly struck sheepish and mute by the impressive lady on the doorstep. he said nothing at all in reply to mrs. arb's request to see elsie, but sidled backwards along-the lobby and opened a door, looking up at her with the most crude curiosity. as soon as she had gone into the room and the inhibition was lifted, he ran off to the yard raising his heels high and laughing boisterously.
the room in which elsie had been installed was crowded and overcrowded with the possessions of the meat-salesman and his wife. the walls were covered from cornice to near the floor with coloured supplements from christmas numbers, either in maple-wood frames or unframed; a wonderful exhibition of kindly sentiment: the innocence of children, the purity of lovers, the cohesion of families, the benevolence of old age, immense meals served in interiors of old oak, landscapes where snow lay in eternal whiteness on church steeples, angels, monks, blacksmiths, coach-drivers, souls awakening: indeed, a vast and successful effort to convince the inhabitants of riceyman square that riceyman square was not the only place on earth. the display undoubtedly unbent, diverted, and cheered the mind. in between the chromatic prints were grey, realistic photographs of people who really existed or had existed. the mantelpiece was laden with ornaments miscalled "china," standing on bits of embroidery. the floor was covered with oddments of carpet. there were many chairs, unassorted; there was a sofa; there was a cradle; there was a[pg 55] sewing-machine; there was a clothes-horse, on which a man's blue apron with horizontal white stripes was spread out. there were several tables, including a small walnut octagonal table, once a lady's work-table, which stood in the window and upon which a number of cloth-bound volumes of once a week were piled carefully, corkscrew-wise. and there was a wardrobe, also a number of kitchen utensils. the place was encumbered with goods, all grimy as the walls and ceilings, many of them cracked and worn like the woodwork and paint, but proving triumphantly that the meat-salesman had no commerce with pawnbrokers.
"i thought i should like to come round and see how you are, elsie," said mrs. arb kindly and forgivingly. "no, don't get up. i can see you aren't well. i'll sit here."
elsie blushed deeply.
"i've had a bit of trouble, 'm," she apologetically murmured.
elsie's trouble was entirely due to mrs. arb's demand for overtime from her on thursday night. mrs. arb had not considered the convenience nor the private life of this young woman whose services made daily existence tolerable for her and for mr. earlforward. the young woman had consequently found herself in a situation of the gravest difficulty and of some danger. hence the young woman was apologetic and mrs. arb forgiving. elsie admitted to herself a clear failure of duty with its sequel of domestic embarrassment for her employers, and she dismissed as negligible the excuses which she might have offered. nor did she dream of criticizing mrs. arb. she never consciously criticized anyone but elsie. and yet somewhere in the unexplored arcana of her mind lay hidden a very just estimate of mrs. arb. strange! no, not strange! a quite common phenomenon in the minds of the humble and conscientious!
"was the trouble over that young man?" asked mrs. arb. "not that i want to be inquisitive!"
elsie began to cry. she nodded, unable for the[pg 56] moment to speak. the sound of a snore came through the wall from the next room. there were muffled noises overhead. mrs. arb grew aware that a child had peeped in upon her and elsie. the church bells, after a few single notes, ceased to ring.
"i suppose you couldn't have sent somebody across to tell me you weren't coming?" mrs. arb suggested. elsie shook her head. "shall you come to-morrow?"
"oh, yes, 'm. i shall come to-morrow—and punctual."
"well, elsie, don't think i'm interfering, but don't you think you'd better give him up? two upsets in three days, you know." (four days mrs. arb ought to have said; but in these details she took the licence of an artist.) "i haven't said a word to you about thursday night, have i? i didn't want to worry you. i knew you'd had worry enough. but i don't mind telling you now that i was very much upset and frightened, as who wouldn't be!... what do you want with men? they'll never be any good to you—that is, if you value a quiet life and a good name. i'm telling you for your own sake. i like you, and i'd like you to be happy and respectable." mrs. arb seemed to have forgotten that she was addressing a widow and not a young girl.
"oh, 'm. i'm giving him up. i'll never have anything to do with him again. never!" elsie burst out, with intense tragedy in her soul.
"that's right! i'm glad to hear it," said mrs. arb with placidity. "and if you really mean it the people that employ you will be able to trust and rely on you again. it's the only way."
"oh, i'm so ashamed, 'm!" said elsie, with the puckered brow of conscientiousness. "'specially seeing i couldn't let you know. nor mr. earlforward, either! but it won't occur again, 'm, and i hope you'll forgive me."
"please, please!" mrs. arb exclaimed magnanimously, protesting against this excess of remorse and penitence. "i only thought i'd call to inquire."[pg 57] after mrs. arb had gone out to dally with a man and to reassure him with the news that everything would be all right and they had nothing to fear, the boy crept into the front-room with a piece of bread and jam in his sticky hand. he silently offered the morsel to elsie, who leaned forward as he held it up to her and bit off a corner to please him. she smiled at him; then broke into a sob, and choked and clutched him violently, bread and jam and all, and there was a dreadful mess.
