"You're back early," whispered Miss Henderson, coming halfway downstairs in her pink flannelette dressing-gown, her scanty fair hair screwed back into a tight plait. "Wasn't much doing. Miss Vivian got off at half-past nine. Jolly good thing, too; she's been late every night this week." "Was it all right about your taking duty?" "Ab-solutely. Said she was glad Miss Plumtree had gone to bed, and asked if she had anything to take for her head." "How awfully decent of her!" "Wasn't it? It'll buck old Greengage up, too. She always thinks Miss Vivian has a down on her." Miss Delmege leant over the banisters and said in a subdued but very complacent undertone: "I thought Miss Vivian would be all right. I thought I could safely answer for her." II Plessing was also speaking of Miss Vivian that evening. "Where is this to end, Miss Bruce? I ask you, where is it to end?" demanded Miss Vivian's mother. Miss Bruce knew quite well that Lady Vivian was not asking her at all, in the sense of expecting to receive from her any suggestion of a term to that which in fact appeared to be interminable, so she only made a clicking sound of sympathy with her tongue and went on rapidly stamping postcards. "I am not unpatriotic, though I do dislike Flag-days, and I was the first person to say that Char must go and do work somewhere--nurse in a hospital if she liked, or do censor's work at the War Office. Sir Piers said 'No' at first--you know he's old-fashioned in many ways--and then he said Char wasn't strong enough, and to a certain extent I agreed with him. But I put aside all that and absolutely encouraged her, as you know, to organize this Supply Depôt. But I must say, Miss Bruce, that I never expected the thing to grow to these dimensions. Of course, it may be a very splendid work--in fact, I'm sure it is, and every one says how proud I must be of such a wonderful daughter—but _is_ it all absolutely necessary?" "Oh, Lady Vivian," said the secretary reproachfully. "Why, the very War Office itself knows the value of dear Charmian's work. They are always asking her to take on fresh branches." "That's just what I am complaining of. Why should the Midland Supply Depôt do all these odd jobs? Hospital supplies are all very well, but when it comes to meeting all the troop-trains and supplying all the bandages, and being central Depôt for sphagnum moss, and all the rest of it--all I can say is, that it's beyond a joke." Miss Bruce took instant advantage of her employer's infelicitous final _cliché_ to remark austerely: "Certainly one would never dream of looking upon it as a _joke_, Lady Vivian. I quite feel with you about the working so fearfully hard, and keeping these strange, irregular hours, but I'm convinced that it's perfectly unavoidable--perfectly unavoidable. Charmian owns herself that no one can possibly take her place at the Depôt, even for a day."