(It  would  not  do  to  admit  that  she  had  seen  her  through  the
window  mounting  the  steps.)  She  kissed  Lady  Lascelles
rapturously  for  the  benefit  of  a  couple  of  humble  North
Circular  Road  acquaintances  who  were  present,  and  shook
hands  heartily  with  Bernard.  Jack  then  came  forward  and
introduced  Bernard  to  his  sisters  while  their  mothers  sat  down
to  chat  over  old  times.  The  eldest  girl,  Susan,  was  tall


126  THE  WASTED  ISLAND

plain  and  pimply,  and  having  said  *  how  do  you  do  '  remained
silent.  Molly,  the  second  girl,  was  of  medium  height,
almost  pretty,  and  plunged  into  conversation  at  once,  so  that
Bernard's  introduction  to  the  youngest  sister  Mabel,  a  shy
fair  haired  girl  of  sixteen,  was  of  a  perfunctory  nature.  Molly
was  a  jolly  girl  whose  conversation  consisted  almost  entirely
of  a  string  of  funny  stories.  Bernard  found  them  amusing
at  first  but  was  beginning  to  feel  boredom  approaching
when  Mrs.  Harvey  commanded  Molly  to  sing.  Molly,
nothing  loath,  obeyed  at  once  and  sang  in  the  conventional
humorous  way  Are  you  right  there  Michael?  and  on  being
encored,  an  English  music  hall  comic  ditty.  While  the
songs  were  in  progress  Mabel  slipped  into  the  chair  beside
Bernard  vacated  by  her  sister,  and  as  the  applause  died  away
turned  to  talk  to  him.  She  was  a  pretty  child,  with  deep
brown  eyes  and  golden  hair  tied  back  by  a  big  blue  bow  at
her  neck.  At  the  first  word  she  uttered  she  suddenly  became
shy  and  faltered  while  her  cheeks  became  flooded  with  pink
blushes.  Bernard  tactfully  took  up  a  commonplace  topic.
"  Your  sister  sings  very  well,"  he  said.
