An American girl in London Author:Sara Jeannette Duncan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chicago. You have never been over to see us, Mrs. Portheris.' At this point I walked across to one of the spindly red chairs and sat down. I thought then that sh... more »e had forgotten to ask me; but even now, when I know she hadn't, I am not at all ' THE OLD LADY GATHERED HERSELF UP AND LOOKED AT ME ' sorry I sat down. I find it is possible to stand up too much in this country. The old lady gathered herself up and looked at me. ' Where are your father and mother ? ' she said. ' In Chicago, Mrs. Portberis. All very well, thank you ! I had a cable from them this morning, before I left the hotel. Kind regards to you.' Mrs. Portheris looked at me in absolute silence. Then she deliberately arranged her back draperies and sat down too—not in any amiable way, but as if the situation must be faced. ' Margaret and Isabel,' she said to the two young pink persons, ' go to your rooms, dears !' And she waited till the damsels, each with a little shy smile and blush, gathered up their effects and went, before she continued the conversation. As they left the room I observed that they wore short dresses, buttoned down the back. It began to grow very interesting to me, after the first shock of finding this kind of relation was over. I found myself waiting for what was to come next with the deepest interest. In America we are very fond of types— perhaps because we have so few among ourselves—and it seemed to me, as I sat there on Mrs. Portheris's spindly red chair, that I had come into violent contact with a type of the most valuable and pronounced description. Privately I resolved to stay as long as I could, and lose no opportunity of observing it. And my first observation was that Mrs. Portheris's expression was changing—losing its neutrality and beginning to radiate active opposition...« less