going to New York for Madame next year--me, to New
York, if you please, and stay at a good hotel, and put more than twenty
thousand dollars into materials and imported wraps and scarfs and so
on--is there any luck to that? There's ten years' slavery, that's what
there is! How much do you suppose you'd have married Jim Studdiford if
you hadn't kept yourself a little above the crowd, and worked away at
the settlement house for years and years?" she demanded. "I can put a
little hook in here, Ju, where the lace comes, to keep that in place for
you!" she added, more quietly.

"Well, it's true!" Julia said, sighing. She looked with real admiration
at the capable, black-clad figure, the clear-skinned, black-eyed face of
Madame Carroll's chief assistant. "Why don't you ever come and have
lunch with me, Evelyn?" she demanded affectionately.

"Oh, Lord, dearie!" Evelyn said, in her most professional way, as she
pencilled a list of young Mrs. Studdiford's proportions on a printed
card, "this season Madame has our lunches, and even our dinners, sent
in--simply one rush! But some time I'd love to."

"You like your work, don't you, Evelyn?" Julia said curiously.

"You go tell Madame I'm ready for Mrs. Addison," Evelyn said capably to
a small black-clad girl who answered her bell, "and then carry this to
Minnie and tell her it's rush--don't drop the pins out. I love my work,"
she added, when she and Julia were alone again; "I'm crazy about it! The
girls here are awfully nice, and some of the customers treat me simply
swell--most of them do. This way, Julia. Christmas time we get more
presents than you could shake a stick at!" said Evelyn, opening a door.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Addison, I'm all ready for you."

"That's a good girl!" the woman who was waiting in Carroll's handsome
parlour said appreciatively; she recognized Julia. "Well, how do you do,
Mrs. Studdiford?" she smiled, "so sorry not to see you on Saturday, you
bad little thing!"

Julia gave her excuse. "You know Evelyn here is my cousin?" she said, in
her quiet but uncompromising way, as she hooked her sables together.

"About eleven times removed!" Evelyn said cheerfully. "Right in here,
please, Mrs. Addison! At the same time to-morrow, Mrs. Studdiford. Thank
you, good-night."

"Good-night!" Julia said, smiling. For some reason she could not fathom,
Evelyn never seemed willing to claim the full relationship; always
assumed it to be but a hazy and distant connectio