The Charm School
perfume. Why, he wondered, did it make him think of the little princess? Did she wear them? Or was it that the smooth whiteness of her skin—
He broke off, for the time had come to murmur again, "How interesting!"
"Yes, it was as simple as that," said Mr. Doughty. In the excitement of his narrative he had taken out his cigar again, but on receiving a severe look from Austin he hastily replaced it. "I beg your pardon," he said, and Austin forgave him with a kindly glance. "I came to speak about Helen. She tells me the school no longer prepares for college. That is a great disappointment, Mr. Bevans. I wish Helen to go to college. If she cannot be prepared here, I must send her elsewhere." He paused to be pleaded with.
"The school will miss Helen very much," said Austin, making a faint pretense of rising, as if the interview were over. It wasn't, for Mr. Doughty settled back in his chair.
"Helen," he said, "is just the type to profit by a college education."
"I should have said exactly the opposite," answered Austin.
"I consider her intellectual equipment far above the average, though, of course," he
[ 70 ]
