Then with a rush of self-ridicule she recognized Piers Evesham.

"Oh, it is you!" she said.

"How stupid of me!" He came straight to her with an air of determination that would brook no opposition and took the brush out of her hand.

"That's not your job," he said.

"You go and sit down!" She stared at him in silence, trying to still the wild agitation that his unlooked-for coming had raised in her.