mr. hooper had not long arrived at his chambers, on the following morning; he was lounging in his chair, his hat still on the back of his head, his pipe between his lips, studying, in the newspaper which he held out in front of him, reports of cricket, golf, and similar legal matters, when the door was opened and mr. gibb came in.
"lady to see you, sir."
mr. hooper started.
"lady? what lady?"
"lady you made an appointment with yesterday, sir."
"lady i made an appointment with yesterday?" mr. hooper seemed to be making an effort to collect his wits, which mr. gibb's announcement had scattered. "you young scoundrel! i'd forgotten----"
fortunately he had got no further; because, even as he was speaking, the lady entered; whereupon mr. gibb vanished with a degree of haste which was almost suspicious. mr. hooper dropped his newspaper, removed his hat with one hand, his pipe with the other, and sprang to his feet, to stare; forgetful altogether, for the moment, of his manners, so completely was he taken by surprise. what he had expected to see he could not have said; what he actually did see, standing
"in his room,
making it rich and like a lily in bloom,"
was the most beautiful girl he ever had seen. she was tall and most divinely fair, perfectly dressed, in a long, trailing black gown, which became her slender form, and a big black hat, which threw into strong relief what seemed to him to be the almost ethereal beauty of her face; and she held herself daintily erect, like the great lady he could have sworn she was. the fact that the bowl of his pipe was burning his hand recalled him to his senses.
"i--i beg your pardon; i'm afraid i've been smoking; if you'll allow me i'll open the windows."
he opened them; the three windows the room contained.
"you are mr. hooper?"
her voice was just the kind of voice it was fitting should be hers, soft, clear, sweet; it was to him like the sound of music which he loved; and, when he heard it, off went his wits again.
"yes, that--that is my name; yes--exactly--i--i am mr. hooper--yes."
"i am nora lindsay."
nora! that was one of his pet names; as she pronounced it it seemed to him to be the sweetest name a woman could have; like everything about her, it became her so.
"may i--may i offer you a seat, miss lindsay? i--i am very glad to see you."
she sat down, with what seemed to him almost awful calmness; but she was all tremblement within, a maze of conflicting emotions, for already it was clear to her that this was quite a singular young man; only she was able to exhibit more outward self-control than he was. when she saw that he showed no immediate disposition to touch on the subject on which she had come, but seemed to be able to do nothing but fidget, she began on the theme herself.
"eustace tells me that he mentioned to you that i am looking for a post as secretary."
"eustace? oh, you mean king solomon--that is, young gibb. young gibb's a curious boy."
"curious? i think he's delightful."
"delightful? yes, so--so he is; a--a most valuable acquisition for a man like me."
"do you yourself require a secretary, mr. hooper.
"do i--require a secretary--myself? i--i--the fact is----" a wild idea was germinating in the erratic young gentleman's brain. "what are your qualifications, miss lindsay?"
"i can work a typewriter."
"can you? that's splendid."
"at least i could about twelve months ago, and i dare say i could again, after a little practice."
"of course you could; not a doubt of it. and--and can you write shorthand?"
"no, i can't write shorthand; is that indispensable?"
"no, not--not indispensable."
"i can speak and write french, and i know some german."
"those--those are decidedly advantages."
"and i write a very clear hand; i don't think any one would have any difficulty in reading what i write; i will show you a specimen if you like."
"there's--there's not the slightest necessity; not the least; i feel sure you write a clear hand. and--when are you disengaged?"
"at once; i should like to begin as soon as i possibly could; i am very anxious to begin." something which she fancied she saw on his face seemed to trouble her. "isn't the secretary wanted at once?"
"well, the fact is, it's this way----"
"i could come for a week on trial, so that you might see if i suited."
the idea of this divine creature coming to his chambers, day after day, for a whole week, made his brain whirl round.
"i'm sure you'd suit; i--i've not the slightest doubt about that."
"you can't be quite sure; but i'd try to please you."
"i--i--i----" he was about to remark that there was not the slightest necessity for her to try, since she could not help but please him, whether she tried or not, when a sudden fear came to him that his remark might be misconstrued; so he pulled himself up in time. "the remark i was about to make is, since--since i desire to be quite plain, in order that we may not commence with--with a misunderstanding; what it is i wish to point out is that the post may be of a purely temporary nature."
"that doesn't matter; it would be something; and that's better than nothing. how long would it be likely to last?"
"that's--that's not easy to determine; the fact is it's really a jobbing secretary that's wanted."
"what is a jobbing secretary?"
"one who works by the job."
"by the job?"
"let me explain. say there's a job--that is, a piece of work--wants doing; when that's done there may be an interregnum before more's required."
"i see. and--will the secretary be paid by the job?"
"paid by the job?"
"or--by the week--or how?"
"that--that reminds me." it seemed to nora that mr. hooper drew in a long breath, as if he desired to lay in a stock in case of emergency. "what honorarium were you thinking of asking, miss lindsay?"
"i was thinking of asking two guineas a week." she fancied his jaw fell; so she hedged, quickly. "but, of course, if that's too much----"
"not at all; not in the least; practically it's less than i expected." although he had not the faintest notion where the money was to come from, if it had to come from him, he was thinking that if she proposed to keep herself on two guineas a week it would be some time--slight though his knowledge of such matters was, before she would be able to buy another dress like the one which she had on. "well, miss lindsay, we'll leave it like this; i will think it over and let you know my decision."
"couldn't you decide now? i've found that when people say they'll let me know their decision they mean no. please--please give me a trial; do let me try. if--if you'll give me a chance i'll--i'll do my very best, so that you--you shan't regret it."
unless he was mistaken, something very much like tears stood in her eyes; they affected him in a way nothing ever had done before; he would have liked to have knocked his head against the wall.
"my dear miss lindsay, you altogether misunderstand me--entirely misunderstand me; i shall be delighted to offer you the post--delighted."
"mr. hooper! do you mean it? really?"
it was worth two guineas a week to see the look which came into her face.
"certainly i mean it."
"but--what did you mean when you said you'd let me know your decision?"
"i meant my decision with--with reference to--to when your duties are to commence."
"oh! will it be very long before you want me?"
"emphatically no. as to wanting you, i--i want you immediately. shall we say----"
"to-morrow? if you could let me begin tomorrow!"
"undoubtedly you can begin to-morrow."
"at what time?"
"shall we put it--at eleven? or would you prefer to make it twelve?"
"twelve! but eustace comes at ten."
"yes, eustace comes at ten; but i don't want to put you to any inconvenience."
"you don't want to put me to any inconvenience!" she got up from her chair with something in her way of doing it which frightened him. "but i don't want you to study my convenience; in the future it will be my duty to study yours; please understand that, before all else, i wish to do my duty. i want to do a man's work and to earn a man's wage--to deserve a man's wage. of course i know i shan't deserve it at first; but i'm going to try hard, and if you'll only give me a chance, and treat me as if i were a man, i think you'll admit that i do deserve it before very long. i know that being a woman is against me----"
"really, miss lindsay, i can't admit that."
"but i know it is--i learnt that long ago; and only when i have succeeded in making you forget that i am a woman shall i know that i am beginning to earn my wage--as a man. then i am to come to-morrow with eustace, at ten."
"with eustace? oh yes; quite so--that is--certainly; that will suit me very well."
she went out of the room without another word; he stood staring at the door through which she had passed.
"this is uncommonly awkward; ought i to have opened the door for her or not? it wouldn't have been treating her like a man, and she might have resented it. she has a way of speaking, to say nothing of looking, which takes the stiffening right out of me. i'd have given anything to have dared to ask her to lunch; but--if i had dared, anything might have happened. one thing's certain, i've been and gone and done it. i've given myself two problems to solve; one thing is, what am i to find for her to do?--for even a jobbing secretary must do something, especially when she's full of enthusiasm to the bursting-point. and the other is, how i am going to find the cash to pay her for doing it; i'll be hanged if i know which of the problems is likely to prove the most insoluble."
when nora reached the office mr. gibb assailed her with questions; her answers seeming to amaze him in an ascending scale.
"well, what did he say to you?"
"he's engaged me."
"engaged you? what for?"
"as jobbing secretary."
"as what?"
"as jobbing secretary."
"who to?"
"why, to himself, of course."
"he's engaged you as jobbing secretary to himself? what are you going to do?"
"how can i tell? i suppose he has something very important which he wants me to do."
"has he? oh! when are you going to start on it?"
"to-morrow!"
"to-morrow? what's he going to pay you?"
"two guineas a week; isn't it splendid?" the announcement seemed to startle mr. gibb out of the faculty of asking further questions. she went on. "and i have to thank you for it! only think! if it hadn't been for you such luck never would have come my way; you dear, dear boy! i should like to kiss you for it; and i will!" and she did, quite heartily too, though she had to stoop to do it. "and out of my first two guineas i'll buy you something; what shall it be?"
"nothing you could buy could ever equal what you've given me."
"what i've given you? what have i given you?"
"a kiss; i never shall forget you kissed me as long as i live."
"eustace, you are--you are a queer boy!"
she went out, all blushes. when she had gone mr. gibb did what his employer had done; he stared at the door through which she had passed.
"well, i call this of the nature of a startler; she must have knocked him. his jobbing secretary! what's he going to find for her to do, when there's nothing for him to do? or, for the matter of that, for me either. and two guineas a week! when the other day he sent me out to change his last fiver, and told me he'd have to make it do till quarter day, and there's still three weeks to that. looks to me as if he'd rather overdone it."
the door of mr. hooper's room was opened; his voice was heard.
"mr. gibb, come in here!" mr. gibb went in there.
