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Lily, to who, opened the door upon a woman in a battered bonnet, who stood firas shone familiarly on her pock-h thin strands of straw-coloured hair Lily looked at the char-woman in surprise

"Do you wish to see me?" she asked

"I should like to say a word to you, Miss" The tone was neither aggressive nor conciliatory: it revealed nothing of the speaker's errand Nevertheless, some precautionary instinct warned Lily to withdraw beyond ear-shot of the hovering parlour-ned to Mrs Haffen to follow her into the drawing-room, and closed the door when they had entered

"What is it that you wish?" she enquired

The char-woman, after the manner of her kind, stood with her ar the latter, she produced a s here that you ht like to see, Miss Bart" She spoke the na itthere To Lily the intonation sounded like a threat

"You have found so her hand

Mrs Haffen drew back "Well, if it couess it's mine as much as anybody's," she returned

Lily looked at her perplexedly She was sure, now, that her visitor's manner conveyed a threat; but, expert as she was in certain directions, there was nothing in her experience to prepare her for the exact significance of the present scene She felt, however, that it must be ended as promptly as possible

"I don't understand; if this parcel is not mine, why have you asked for me?"

The woman was unabashed by the question She was evidently prepared to answer it, but like all her class she had to go a long way back to , and it was only after a pause that she replied: "My husband was janitor to the Benedick till the first of theto do"

Lily remained silent and she continued: "It wasn't no fault of our own, neither: the agent had another age, just to suit his fancy I had a long sickness last winter, and an operation that ate up all we'd put by; and it's hard forout of a job"