In a corner of
an A.B.C. shop she found an unoccupied table, whereat she promptly
installed herself, impelled by the fact that at the next table was
sitting a young girl, rather plain of feature, with tired, listless eyes,
and a general air of uncomplaining forlornness. Her dress was of poor
material, but aimed at being in the fashion, her hair was pretty, and her
complexion bad; she was finishing a modest meal of tea and scone, and she
was not very different in her way from thousands of other girls who were
finishing, or beginning, or continuing their teas in London tea-shops at
that exact moment. The odds were enormously in favour of the supposition
that she had never seen the "Yellow Peacock"; obviously she supplied
excellent material for Jocantha's first experiment in haphazard
benefaction.
Jocantha ordered some tea and a muffin, and then turned a friendly
scrutiny on her neighbour with a view to catching her eye. At that
precise moment the girl's face lit up with sudden pleasure, her eyes
sparkled, a flush came into her cheeks, and she looked almost pretty. A
young man, whom she greeted with an affectionate "Hullo, Bertie," came up
to her table and took his seat in a chair facing her. Jocantha looked
hard at the new-comer; he was in appearance a few years younger than
herself, very much better looking than Gregory, rather better looking, in
fact, than any of the young men of her set. She guessed him to be a well-
mannered young clerk in some wholesale warehouse, existing and amusing
himself as best he might on a tiny salary, and commanding a holiday of
about two weeks in the year.
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