Page:Gissing - The Emancipated, vol. I, 1890.djvu/71

Rh of yourself!" Whether or not this was an advance upon the stern intolerance which made Miriam Baske refuse even to enter the building, I leave to your speculation.

The Bradshaws, as you have incidentally learnt, were staying at the pension selected by Mrs. Lessingham. Naturally the conversation at dinner turned much on that lady and her niece. With Cecily's father Mr. Bradshaw had been well acquainted, but Cecily herself he had not seen since her childhood, and his astonishment at meeting her as Miss Doran was great.

"What kind of society do they live among?" he asked of Spence. "Tip-top people, I suppose?"

"Not exactly what we understand by tip-top in England. Mrs. Lessingham's family connections are aristocratic, but she prefers the society of authors, artists—that kind of thing."

"Queer people for a young girl to make friends of, eh?"

"Well, there's Mallard, for instance."