‘Oh well, of course I know that anything I tell you would be all in confidence and perfectly safe.’
‘Yes, it would be perfectly safe.’
Mrs Smith’s manner had changed imperceptibly, and her voice too. It had a naturally deep tone, but some of the gruffness went out of it. She said,
‘Well, you’re right, you know – I did just come to have a look at you. When I tell you why, I daresay you will see for yourself that it was quite a sensible thing to do.’
‘And now that you have seen me?’
Mrs Smith made a quite involuntary gesture. Her hand lifted and fell. It was a small thing, but it did not go very well with the rabbit coat and the rest of her appearance. She would have done better to go on pleating the linen handkerchief. That slight graceful gesture was out of key. She realized it a moment too late, and said with a little more accent than before,
‘Oh, I’m going to consult you. Only of course it’s a bit difficult to begin.’
Miss Silver said nothing. She continued to knit. She had seen so many clients in this room – some of them badly frightened, some of them dazed with grief, some in great need of kindness and reassurance. Mrs Smith did not appear to come into any of these categories. She had her own plan and her own way of carrying it out. If she had made up her mind to speak she would speak, and if she had not made it up she would remain silent.
Suddenly and abruptly it appeared that she had made up her mind to speak.