Clytie was clever and soon got the idea of the game. She might have grown restive under it and petulant if she had been playing with some people, but Maxwell could be interesting when he chose to exert himself; and he was choosing just now, studying the calibre of the girl before him and leading her in spite of herself to take a real interest in what she was doing. To tell the truth, Clytie was interested in a man of almost any kind, especially if he was good-looking, but this particular man was a specimen different from any that had ever come into her path in a friendly way before. She had met such men as this only in a business way when she was ordered curtly to write a business letter over again or told she could not hold her position in an office unless she stopped chewing gum and talking so much to the other stenographers. Never had a man of this sort stepped down from his height to be really nice to her; and she was not only astonished, but pleased at it. There was nothing of the personal about his manner, just a nice, pleasant, friendly way of taking it for granted that she liked being talked to, and was as good as anybody; and it gave her a new feeling of self-respect that she would never forget, even if she never met the man again. Cornelia, watching furtively and thankfully from her corner where she was showing Brand Barlock a book of college photographs and explaining some of the college jokes inscribed beneath them, marvelled at his patience and skill. She had not known him long, only two hours; but he was so obviously of another world from this girl, and yet was making her feel so entirely comfortable and happy, that she felt humiliated and ashamed that she had not been able to do the same for the girl. She had invited her with a real feeling that she might be able to help her somehow; at least, that was what she thought she had for one of her objects; but now she began to suspect that perhaps she had in reality desired to humiliate the girl and put her into such a position that Carey would not want to go with her any longer. The girl had shown that she was unhappy and out of her element, and Cornelia had not helped her to find any possible basis for understanding with those about her. It was all wrong, and she ought to have gone further into things and planned to uplift that girl, even if she didn’t want to lift her up to the social plane of her own brother. There might be senses in which Carey wasn’t so very much higher than the girl, too. He needed uplifting a lot. Of course that girl wouldn’t help lift him nor he her as things were; but Cornelia had had no right whatever to humble her for the sake of saving her brother.