Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. I, 1889.djvu/72

 Mrs. Hewett examined her with apprehension. Having carelessly closed the door with a push, she placed her umbrella in the corner and began to unbutton her gloves. Her attitude was one of affected unconcern; she held her head stiffly, and let her eyes wander to the farther end of the room. The expression of her face was cold, preoccupied; she bit her lower lip so that the under part of it protruded.

"Where have you been, Clara?" her father asked.

She did not answer immediately, but finished drawing off her gloves and rolled them up by turning one over the other. Then she said indifferently:

"I've been to see Mrs. Tubbs."

"And who gave you leave?" asked Hewett with irritation.

"I don't see that I needed any leave. I knew she was coming here to speak to you or mother, so I went, after work, to ask what you'd said."

She was not above the middle stature of