"
She faced me, with an eye full of bright courage, across the newspaper
lying between us.
"He ought to be here in a moment now--he's always so punctual. But my
watch is a little fast, I think."
She held it out to me almost gaily, and I was just pretending to compare
it with mine, when there was a smart rap on the door and Vard stalked in.
There was always a civic majesty in his gait, an air of having just
stepped off his pedestal and of dissembling an oration in his umbrella;
and that day he surpassed himself. Miss Vard had turned pale at the knock;
but the mere sight of him replenished her veins, and if she now avoided my
eye, it was in mere pity for my discomfiture.
I was in fact the only one of the three who didn't instantly "play up";
but such virtuosity was inspiring, and by the time Vard had thrown off his
coat and dropped into a senatorial pose, I was ready to pitch into my
work. I swore I'd do his face then and there; do it as she saw it; she sat
close to him, and I had only to glance at her while I painted--
Vard himself was masterly: his talk rattled through my hesitations and
embarrassments like a brisk northwester sweeping the dry leaves from its
path. Even his daughter showed the sudden brilliance of a lamp from which
the shade has been removed. We were all surprisingly vivid--it felt,
somehow, as though we were being photographed by flash-light...
It was the best sitting we'd ever had--but unfortunately it didn't last
more than ten minutes.
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