"If you saw my tiny
bandbox of a room on the fourth floor you'd realise what a sybarite you
are."
Diana wondered a little why Olga Lermontof should need to economise by
having such a small room and one so high up. She was invariably
well-dressed--Diana had frequently caught glimpses of silken petticoats
and expensive shoes--and she had not in the least the air of a woman
who is accustomed to small means.
Almost as though she had uttered her thought aloud, Miss Lermontof
replied to it, smiling rather satirically.
"You're thinking I don't look the part? It's true I haven't always
been so poor as I am now. But a lot of my money is invested in
Ru--abroad, and owing to--to various things"--she stammered a
little--"I can't get hold of it just at present, so I'm dependent on
what I make. And an accompanist doesn't earn a fortune, you know. But
I can't quite forego pretty clothes--I wasn't brought up that way. So
I economise over my room."
Diana was rather touched by the little confidence; somehow she didn't
fancy the other had found it very easy to make, and she liked her all
the better for it.
"No," she agreed, as she poured out two steaming cups of tea. "I
suppose accompanying doesn't pay as well as some other things--the
stage, for example. I should think Adrienne de Gervais makes plenty of
money."
"She has private means, I believe," returned Miss Lermontof.
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