ll marvellous. Here was rest indeed, here, with Martin cherished
warmly in her heart, she might occupy herself with duties and
interests. Here surely she would be useful to "somebody." She heard a
good deal of an old Mr. Toms, "a little queer in his head, poor man,"
who seemed to figure in the outskirts of Skeaton society as a warning
and a reassurance. ("No one in Skeaton thinks of him in any way but
tenderly.") Maggie wondered whether he might not want looking after ...

The thought gradually occurred to her that this kindly genial clergyman
might perhaps find her some work in Skeaton. He even himself hinted at
something ... She might be some one's secretary or housekeeper.

About Grace Trenchard Maggie was not quite so sure. She was kindness
itself and liked to hold Maggie's hand and pat it--but there was no
doubt at all that she was just a little bit tiresome. Maggie rebuked
herself for thinking this, but again and again the thought arose. Grace
was in a state of perpetual wonder, everything amazed her. You would
not think to look at her flat broad placidity that she was a creature
of excitement, and it might be that her excitement was rather
superficial. She would say: "Why! Just fancy, Maggie! ... To-day's
Tuesday!" Then you wondered what was coming next and nothing came at
all. She had endless stories about her adventures in the streets of
London, and these stories were endless because of all the details that
must be fitted in, and then the details slipped out of her grasp and
winked at her maliciously as they disappeared. The fact was perhaps
that she was not very clever, but then Maggie wasn't very clever
either, so she had no right to criticise Miss Trenchard, who was really
as amiable as she could be. Henry Trenchard said once to Maggie in his
usual scornful way:

"Oh, Grace! ... She's the stupidest woman in Skeaton, which means the
stupidest woman in the world."

The Trenchards, Maggie thought, were rather given to scorning every one
save themselves. Even Philip, who was not a Trenchard, had caught the
habit. Katherine, of course, despised no one and liked every one, but
that was rather tiresome too.

In fact at the end of her first week Maggie thought that as soon as
possible she would find a room for herself somewhere and start to earn
her living. She discovered that she was developing a new sensitiveness.
When she was living with the aunts she had not minded very seriously
the criticisms made upon he