Lois did so , deftly removed her scarf and gloves and followed her friend into the house . Bertie and Robert were in the living-room which , despite the bright fire , had a cold , unused appearance , natural enough considering that Bertie preferred the kitchen and Joan was always too busy to sit down anywhere . Lois &apos;s arrival seemed to warm and enliven the atmosphere , and , as Joan had predicted , there were no gaps in the conversation . she was not in the least self-conscious and so obviously bubbling over with youthful high spirits that the two men could be almost seen to thaw in her presence . before she came , there had been a slight stiffness , due chiefly to the fact that they were practically strangers with little in common . Joan brought in tea , tiny , diamond-shaped sandwiches and cake . waiting on the others , she was a little hurt by their attitude . Bertie , as usual , expected to have everything done for him and Robert &apos;s attention was given to Lois . every now and then he would turn to Joan , including her in the conversation , but she could not help feeling that he regarded her as a mere child , the little girl who had been the rose Queen - even though he had forgotten her ! whereas , he treated Lois in a subtly different manner . more like a woman , thought Joan , though she was three years younger than herself . it must always be like that , she supposed . the pretty ones got everything ! and Lois was essentially feminine , although it would have been unfair to dismiss her as a mere flirt . she was interested in men , her looks and manner aroused their interest . and I , thought Joan , am interested only in Robert . as for my looks , they do n&apos;t amount to a row of pins in contrast with what Lois has to offer . after tea , they sat round the fire . when Bertie had visualised Joan taking Robert on a tour of the property , he had forgotten how short the afternoons were . darkness was already gathering , and when it became necessary for Joan to excuse herself in order to feed the hens , there was still no chance for him to be alone with Lois . Robert was left to play third whether he liked it or not . apparently he did . he and Lois were getting on splendidly together . I thought you were a hermit , Mr Hepworth . Joan says you &apos;ve been away , but I pictured you shut up at Silverstone , the windows shuttered , the tradesmen leaving just enough food outside the back door . Robert looked at her with amusement . are you disappointed ? quite the reverse , but I do wish you were married . Robert laughed outright . you &apos;re a bit young to be a match-maker . it &apos;s a favourite hobby of those who can n&apos;t - well , match themselves ! oh , I do n&apos;t bother about most people , but if you had a wife , it would be such fun . she would be living in the largest house for miles , and she &apos;d give lovely parties and everything would be gay . Larchwood is a bit flat , you know . my stepmother plays bridge and that &apos;s awful . you should see their faces , as solemn as if they were at a funeral and if you dare interrupt they chop your head off . there are the church bazaars , too , and outings and amateur theatricals and the women &apos;s institute , but nothing can be compared to the parties your wife would give . Bertie was frowning at her , afraid that Robert would imagine she was giving him too broad a hint . it was a bit much the way she was carrying on , he reflected . of course , she was so sweet and innocent she did n&apos;t realise she might be giving a false impression . Lois works at Mrs Harris &apos;s dress shop in Waverley , he told Robert . I expect she &apos;s thinking how good it would be for trade if there was a touch more social life here . she &apos;s gifted at her job . he glanced at her with pride , glad to show her in a different light from the one produced by her own scatter-brained chatter . Lois threw up her pretty little soft hands in a gesture of protest . you ought to hear Mrs Harris &apos;s opinion of me ! the things I forget ! the things I do n&apos;t do ! she &apos;d have fired me long ago if it was n&apos;t for my figure . I can model clothes , you see . she has to admit they look better on me than on any of the other girls , and that makes the customers more inclined to give an order . feeling a trifle out of his depth , Robert said : do you like your job , Miss Wade ? I would if the clothes were real . Robert floundered deeper than ever , and , seeing his expression of bewilderment , she added : Mrs Harris has to please her customers and they &apos;re mostly farmers &apos; wives or just the locals . not that she could fly higher . she has n&apos;t got it in her . but , if I never marry , I shall try to get a job in London , modelling . I get fed up with ordinary clothes , garments . I &apos;d like a real creation . her eyes were large and dreamy as if gazing upon some celestial vision . how odd women were , thought Robert , amazed at her reverence for what he considered so trivial . Bertie , however , pounced on one sentence of hers . how d&apos; you mean if you never marry ? of course you &apos;ll marry . there is n&apos;t any never about it . at this moment , Joan re-entered the room . Tom had managed to escape having to accompany his wife to evening service , and , in what Joan considered a most touching way , had insisted on finishing all the final chores . you run along and enjoy yourself with your friends , Miss Sutton . it &apos;s not often you get the chance of wearing a nice red dress instead of your old blue trousers . apron over it &apos;s all right with chicken , but , with the old sow there &apos;s bound to be trouble . rub herself against you as likely as not , and then where will you be ? rolling in the mud , I expect , Tom , she responded , laughingly . that &apos;s egg-zactly what I meant . you go indoors and keep yourself nice and clean for once . obeying him thankfully , Joan slung her apron on to a peg , shed her rubber boots in favour of high-heeled black shoes and combed her hair in front of the small mirror in the kitchen . a nice red dress , Tom had said . probably that was how it looked in his eyes , and she had herself chosen to wear it in preference to her blue woollen or the tweeds , believing , hoping - even though rather shamefacedly - that Robert would notice her and think she was pretty . the blue suited her better , bringing out the colour of her eyes , but she knew she must do something to distinguish herself if possible . Lois was so fascinating that whether she wished it or not she was always a powerful rival . the deep red colour of this dress would surely procure its wearer a little attention . during tea , however , Joan realised that she might just as well have worn her ancient corduroy trousers , or swathed herself in a red blanket ! there was n&apos;t a man in the world who would have given her a second glance while Lois was in the room . she heaved a sigh , then laughed at herself for being so silly and self-pitying . it was her own fault for inviting Robert on a day when Lois would be there , and , instead of standing about , feeling sorry for herself , she ought to be doing something to help poor Bertie . he must be itching to get rid of the other man . entering the living-room , Joan put forward the first excuse she could think of to ensure that her brother might have his coveted few minutes alone with the girl he loved . Mr Hepworth - I mean Robert - I wonder if you &apos;d mind coming upstairs to look at a damp patch we &apos;ve got . I thought - while you &apos;re here &amp;hellip; . he rose at once , but she saw the surprise he could not altogether hide . although technically the owner , his father &apos;s old bailiff performed all that was necessary from a landlord . he followed Joan up to the next floor , without comment . meanwhile , she was racking her brains for a means of delaying him , and , at the same time , was wondering where to take him . there were three bedrooms , Bertie &apos;s , the one where she slept and which had formerly belonged to Uncle Greg , and a tiny spare room , kept sacred for the infrequent visitor . avoiding all these , she led him up the remaining few stairs to the loft , flicking on lights as she went . I &apos;m sorry to take you away from the fire . I &apos;m not a hot-house plant , I shall n&apos;t wither . where &apos;s the damp you mentioned ? Joan glanced wildly about her . there was an old couch whose upholstery needed repairing , two tin trunks , a large lithograph of Canterbury Cathedral in a hideous frame and some cardboard boxes . the walls were white-washed and the ceiling innocent of any stain . blushing scarlet , she stammered : there is n&apos;t any d-damp . then why the blazes did you say there was ? I - I just wanted - people sometimes like to be alone together - please try to understand . raising her eyes to his , she saw that he was looking at her with an expression of contempt . I believe I do understand , he said . well , if you really want it , you can have it . before she realised what he meant , he caught her by the shoulders , drawing her towards him . she had an instant &apos;s glimpse of grey eyes , hard as steel , then his lips were on hers . for one fleeting second , her senses reeled and a sweet thrill ran through every nerve . then she had wrenched herself free , her cheeks burning , her eyes bright with unshed angry tears . how dare you ! she gasped . very easily . you &apos;ve never taken your eyes off me the whole afternoon , yesterday you managed to fling yourself into my arms - I thought it was an accident at the time , I admit , but in face of this , I &apos;m not so sure . you conceited idiot ! exclaimed Joan , furiously . no , I do n&apos;t flatter myself it &apos;s my superior charms which turned your head . I can imagine how bored you must get here , but you should n&apos;t play with fire , you might get the wrong man . I have , she retorted . I do n&apos;t know anyone who could have behaved so abominably . it was an accident yesterday , I fell over my shopping bag . at the very moment when I happened to be there to catch you . I suppose you &apos;ll tell me next that staring at me all afternoon was merely the natural anxiety of a hostess waiting to pour out the second cup of tea . Robert was speaking as unkindly as he could , driven to it by a frightful suspicion that he had made an unforgivable mistake . if you &apos;re so innocent , he went on , show me the damp patch on the wall - or would you prefer me to search the ceiling ? Joan positively stamped her foot with rage . there is n&apos;t a damp patch . it was an excuse to get you out of the room . ah , now we &apos;re getting at the truth , he interposed , sarcastically . will you listen to me and stop interrupting ! the reason why I wanted to take you away from the others is that my brother &apos;s in love with Lois . he never gets a chance of being alone with her and I thought - oh , never mind , you &apos;d never understand . think what you like of me . why should I care ? you &apos;re only a stranger . besides , I &apos;ve done what I wanted to . they are alone together . she spoke with an air of triumph which had very little to do with her true feelings . for one dreadful moment she had longed to slap his face , just as hard as she possibly could . now , all she wanted was to drop on to the beastly old broken couch in the corner and sob her heart out . Robert spoke apologetically . I &apos;m sorry . I &apos;ve made an appalling mistake , I see that now . sorry ! she repeated , derisively . 