Amory laughed again. "Oh, I'll risk that," she assured Dorothy. "And now," she said unselfishly, "tell me more about the changes at your place." For of course she was glad that, in her own peculiar line, Dorothy also stood in advancement's way. On the next day but one she signed her contract. When, on the day following that, there was brought to Glenerne, by an ordinary postman, along with other ordinary letters, an ordinary envelope addressed to Miss Amory Towers with a cheque for ninety-five pounds inside it, Glenerne felt that it was indeed privileged to participate in the making of history. Amory was a little taken aback to find that interest at the rate of five per cent. had already been deducted from the sum; there seemed, not (of course) an indelicacy, but a very great promptitude about this clipping at the round figure. She would have liked the full hundred, if only to call hers for a day; and she had not _quite_ realized that the euphemism "five per cent." meant five real pounds.--But that was not Glenerne's way of looking at it. The breakfast-table gaped with astonishment. Ninety-five pounds for Miss Amory's pictures!... Pictures, of course, _were_ pictures; they had never denied that; very pretty to look at, and hang on walls and all that, especially water-colours: but--ninety-five pounds!... Had ninety-five tongues of fire settled upon Amory's bright head they could hardly have held her in greater awe. They looked at her anew. They had actually been living in the same house with this prodigious young woman! And Mr. Edmondson had asked her whether she did not get "fed up" with painting towards the end of the day! "Fed up!" _They_ should think so! It would take a lot of feeding up of that sort before the boarders of Glenerne cried "Enough!"... Mr. Edmondson was not there when the cheque arrived; Mr. Edmondson rose at five-thirty, cleaned his boots, made himself a cup of tea over the little spirit-lamp in his bedroom, and was out of the house before half-past six; but Mr. Rainbow missed the nine-two that morning, and Uncle George, who never went to business before ten and (it was reverentially whispered) hardly needed to go before lunch unless he chose, took the whole morning off. He had something to say to Amory.--"He's going to advise her about investments," Mr. Geake murmured to Miss Addams as Mr. Massey and Amory left the breakfast-table together.