Studies in Wives

There came the sound of a discreet, embarrassed cough, and Althea Scrope turned quicklyround from the window by which she had been standing still dressed in her outdoor things.She had heard the door open, the unfolding of the tea-table, the setting down of the teatray, but her thoughts had been far away from the old house in Westminster which wasnow her home; her thoughts had been in Newcastle, dwelling for a moment among thefriends of her girlhood, for whom she had been buying Christmas gifts that afternoon.The footman's cough recalled her to herself, and to the present."Am I to say that you are at home this afternoon, ma'am?"Althea's thoughtful, clear eyes rested full on the youth's anxious face. He had not been longin the Scropes' service, and this was the first time he had been left in such a position ofresponsibility, but Dockett, the butler, was out, a rare event, for Dockett liked to be masterin his master's house. Before the marriage of Perceval Scrope, Dockett had been Scrope'svalet, and, as Althea was well aware, the man still regarded her as an interloper. Althea didnot like Dockett, but Perceval was very fond of him, and generally spoke of him to hisfriends as "Trip." Althea had never been able to discover the reason of the nickname, andshe had not liked to ask; her husband often spoke a language strange to her.