"He must be a man-about-town, a clubman, the genuine article."
She was impressed, secretly flustered, and very anxious to meet him as an equal on his own ground of fine manners. She divined that, having entered the room once and fairly caught her asleep, he had had the good taste to withdraw and cough and make a new entry in order to spare her modesty; and she was softly appreciative, while quite determined to demonstrate by her demeanour that she had not been asleep.
"Gertie Jackson wouldn’t have known where to look, in my place."
Still, despite her disdain of Gertie Jackson’s deportment, she felt herself to be terribly unproficient in the social art.
He sat down, disposing his hat by the side of her machine, and his overcoat on another chair, and drawing off his gloves.
Lilian waited like a cat to pounce upon the slightest sign of familiarity and kill it; for she had understood that men-about-town regarded girl typists as their quarry and as nothing else. But there was no least lapse from deferential propriety; the clubman might have been in colloquy with his sister’s friend--and his sister listening in the next room. He pulled a manuscript from his breast-pocket, and, after a loving glance at it, offered it to her.
"I’ve only just written it," said he. "And I want to take it round to the _Evening Standard_ office myself in the morning before 8.30. The editor’s an acquaintance of mine and I might get it into to-morrow afternoon’s paper. In fact, it must be to-morrow or never--because of the financial debate in the House, you see. Topical. I wonder whether you’d be good enough to do it for me."
"Let me see," said Lilian professionally. "About fifteen hundred words, or hardly. Oh, yes! I will do it myself."
"That’s very kind of you. Will you mind looking at the writing? Do you think you’ll be able to make it out? I was at a bit of a jolly to-night, and my hand’s never too legible."
Without glancing further at the manuscript, Lilian answered:
"I suppose it is," he said, also smiling. "Now shall I call for the copy about 8 o’clock?"
"I’m afraid the office won’t be open at 8 o’clock," said Lilian. "We close at 6.30 for an hour or two. But what’s the address? Is it anywhere near here?"