Where was Fraulein Hirsch?
"I am only a strange girl and Lady Etynge might so easily have
forgotten me," passed through her mind. "Her friend may have stayed
and they may have had so much to talk about, that, of coarse, I
was forgotten. But Fraulein Hirsch--how could she!"
Then, remembering the subservient humility of the Fraulein's mind,
she wondered if it could have been possible that she had been too
timid to do more than sit waiting--in the hall, perhaps--afraid
to allow the footman to disturb Lady Etynge by asking her where
her pupil was. The poor, meek, silly thing.
"I must get away without disturbing anyone," she thought, "I
will slip downstairs and snatch Fraulein Hirsch from her seat and
we will go quietly out. I can write a nice note to Lady Etynge
tomorrow, and explain. I HOPE she won't mind having forgotten me.
I must make her feel sure that it did not matter in the least.
I'll tell her about the book."
She replaced the book on the shelf from which she had taken it and
passed through into the delightful sitting room. The kittens were
playing together on the hearth, having deserted their basket. One
of them gave a soft, airy pounce after her and caught at her dress
with tiny claws, rolling over and over after his ineffectual snatch.
She had not heard the footman close the door when he left the room,
but she found he must have done so, as it was now shut.
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