Mr. Hancock was only just beginning his second course. He must have lingered in the workshop.... He was helping himself to condiments; Mr. Orly proffered the wooden pepper mill; "oh--thank you"; he screwed it with an air of embarrassed appreciativeness. There was a curious fresh lively air of embarrassment in the room making a stirring warmth in its cellar-like coolness. Miriam slipped quietly into her place hoping she was not an interloper. At any rate everyone was too much engrossed to ponder over her lateness. Mr. Orly was sitting with his elbows on the table and his serviette crumpled in his hands, ready to rise from the table, beaming mildness and waiting. Mrs. Orly sat waiting and smiling with her elbows on the table. "Ah," said Mr. Orly gently as Miriam sat down, "here comes the clerical staff." Miriam beamed and began her soup. It was James waiting to-day too, with her singing manner; a happy day. Mrs. Orly asked a question in her happiest voice. They were fixing a date.... They were going ... to a _theatre_ ... together. Her astonished mind tried to make them coalesce ... she saw them sitting in a row, two different worlds confronted by one spectacle ... there was not a scrap of any kind of performance that would strike them both in the same way. "Got anything on on Friday Miss Henderson?" The sudden question startled her. Had it been asked twice? She answered, stammering, in amazed consciousness of what was to follow and accepted the invitation in a flood of embarrassment. Her delight and horror and astonishment seemed to flow all over the table. Desperately she tried to gather in all her emotions behind an easy appreciative smile. She felt astonishment and dismay coming out of her hair, swelling her hands, making her clumsy with her knife and fork. Far away, beyond her grasp was the sense she felt she ought to have, the sense of belonging; socially. It was being offered. But something or someone was fighting it. Always, everywhere someone or something was fighting it. Mr. Orly had given a ghostly little chuckle. "Like dining at restaurants?" he asked kindly and swiftly. "I don't think I ever have." "Then we shall have the pleasure of initiating you. Like caviare?" "I don't even know what it is" said Miriam trying to bring gladness into her voice. "Oh--this is great. Caviare to the million eh?--oh, I ought not to have put it like that, things one would rather have said otherwise--no offence intended--none taken I hope--don't yeh know really?--Sturgeon's roe, y'know." "Oh, I know I don't like _roe_" said Miriam gravely. "Chalk it up. Miss Henderson doesn't like roe." Miriam flushed. Pressing back through her anger to what had preceded she found inspiration. "My education has been neglected." "Quite so, but now's your chance. Seize your opportunity; carpe diem. See?" "I thought it was caviare, not carp" said Mr. Hancock quietly.