"Idiots!" ejaculated Miss Vivian to herself as she went to her own room. She heard voices and laughter break out again as she went up the stairs. Obviously it was not possible to attempt any unofficial footing with her staff, even had she herself desired such a thing. To them she was Miss Vivian, a being in supreme authority, in whose presence naturalness became impossible and utterly undesirable. John knew nothing about it. On this summing up, Char went to bed. Twice she heard conversations on the stairs, in which the astounding fact that "Miss Vivian came into the sitting room, and there was Plumtree with her hair down, actually _down_, my dear," was repeated, and received with incredulous ejaculations or commiserating giggles. Finally, the workers from the Canteen came in, groped their way up in the dark, and were met on the landing by the hissing, sibilant whisper peculiar to Miss Delmege. "H'sh, girls! Don't make a noise. Miss Vivian has practically told me that she can hear you in the bathroom every night. It really is too bad, you know, when she simply needs every minute's rest she can get." "Well, so do we. Let me get past, dear." Miss Marsh's tones spoke eloquently of the tartness induced by fatigue. "_Must_ you go to the bathroom tonight?" "Of course we must. What an idea! How am I to get my kettle boiled? I'm simply pining for a cup of tea; the work was awful tonight." "Was Miss Vivian at the Canteen?" "Just for a bit; talking to that cousin of hers--the Staff Officer one, you know." "I know. She came into the sitting-room when she got in, and what _do_ you think? Plumtree had been washing her hair, and it was all down her back!" "Gracious! And Miss Vivian came in?" "Came in, and there was Plumtree with her hair down her back!" "What _did_ she do?" "Nothing. There was nothing _to_ do, you know; there she simply was, with her hair actually down her back!" "I say, Gracie, do you hear that? Plumtree really has no luck. Miss Vivian came into the sitting-room tonight just when she'd been washing her hair, and had it actually down her back." Char listened rather curiously to hear how Miss Jones would receive this climax. Her voice came distinctly, with a little amusement in it, and the usual quality of sympathetic interest which she apparently always accorded to any one's crisis. "Well, I hope she didn't mind. She has such pretty hair." "That's hardly the point, is it?" said Miss Delmege reprovingly. "It looked rather funny, after all, for Miss Vivian coming in like that, to see her with her hair absolutely down her back." "Even if it was funny," said Grace literally, "I dare say Miss Vivian didn't notice it. I never think she has much sense of humour. Good-night." XIV "Good-morning, Miss Vivian." "Good-morning, Miss Collins. Please take a letter to--" The stenographer giggled and tossed her red head: "Mrs. Baker-Bridges, if you please!"