. . . And now my dress."
In a wonderfully short space of time her hair had been reformed in its
usual loops. The upper half of her body now became dark green with black
stripes on it; the skirt, however, needed hooking at various angles, and
Rachel had to kneel on the floor, fitting the eyes to the hooks.
"Our Miss Johnson used to find life very unsatisfactory, I remember,"
Miss Allan continued. She turned her back to the light. "And then she
took to breeding guinea-pigs for their spots, and became absorbed in
that. I have just heard that the yellow guinea-pig has had a black baby.
We had a bet of sixpence on about it. She will be very triumphant."
The skirt was fastened. She looked at herself in the glass with the
curious stiffening of her face generally caused by looking in the glass.
"Am I in a fit state to encounter my fellow-beings?" she asked. "I
forget which way it is--but they find black animals very rarely have
coloured babies--it may be the other way round. I have had it so often
explained to me that it is very stupid of me to have forgotten again."
She moved about the room acquiring small objects with quiet force,
and fixing them about her--a locket, a watch and chain, a heavy gold
bracelet, and the parti-coloured button of a suffrage society. Finally,
completely equipped for Sunday tea, she stood before Rachel, and smiled
at her kindly.
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