Page:Sheila and Others (1920).djvu/16

Rh neither demanded nor declined the concession, but who rarely achieved the doubtful pleasure of dining with us by reason of the exigencies of serving. This maladjustment was, of course, remedied with Sheila's advent, and the accomplished lady sat with us at meals producing an inhibitory effect upon the flow of conversation, and keeping an ever watchful eye upon Sheila. I could see the firm line of her decisive mouth becoming firmer when the bacon (it was in pre-war days) came in slightly congealed, or the pudding overdone. And I could see too, a cloud beginning to settle on Sheila's confident youth, tinging its brightness.

I became uneasy. The arrangement was merely transient. It was intended to serve two ends; Sheila's induction into Canadian ways, and to provide the Domestic Science lady with harborage until the appointed time when she would spread wing for wider flight, "These old country servants need to be made to understand who is mistress," she remarked to me shortly after Sheila's arrival. "It all depends upon the start they get. I know their ways—if you will permit me—better than you possibly can."