She was incompetent, utterly incompetent. He had, as he had promised,
given her some work to do during these last weeks, come copying, some
arranging of letters, and she had mismanaged it all. She was a muddle-
headed, ill-educated, careless, conceited and self-opinionated woman, and
it did not make it any the pleasanter for Ronder to be aware, as he now
was, that Brandon had been quite right to dismiss her from her Library
post which she had retained far too long.
She looked across the room at him with an expression of mingled obstinacy
and false humility. Her eyes were nearly closed.
"Good-afternoon, Canon Ronder," she said. "It is very good of you to see
me. I shall not detain you very long."
"Well, what is it, Miss Milton?" he said, looking over his shoulder at
her. "I am very busy, as a matter of fact. All these Jubilee affairs--
however, if I can help you."
"You can help me, sir. It is a most serious matter, and I need your
advice."
"Well, sit down there and tell me about it."
The sun was beating into the room. He went across and pulled down the
blind, partly because it was hot and partly because Miss Milton was less
unpleasant in shadow.
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