It did not occur to Margaret to wonder that there should be a draught

at all, at the end of a closed corridor. She stood on the threshold,

resting one hand on the door-post and looking towards the stage. In the

distance she could see it, somewhere in the neighbourhood of what is

technically described as L 3, where a group of courtiers and court

ladies were standing ready to go on in the Introduction. The border

lights were up already, Margaret could see that, and just then she

heard the warning signal to be ready to raise the curtain, and the

first distant notes of the orchestra reached her ears. She breathed a

sigh of relief. The long-wished-for ordeal had begun at last, and the

tension of her nerves relaxed. The sensation was strangely delicious

and quite new to her; the quiet and solitude of the dressing-room would

not be disagreeable now, nor the steady gaze of the sallow-faced maid.

She turned half round to step back, and in so doing faced the end of

the corridor. She had not the slightest idea of what was beyond the

door she saw there, and which she had not noticed before, but she saw

that it was now not quite shut, and that it moved slowly on its hinges

as if it had been more open until that moment. So far as she knew there

was no reason why it should be closed, but a little natural curiosity

moved her to go and see what there was on the other side of it. It was

not three steps from her own door, yet when she reached it, it was

tightly closed, and when she took hold of the handle of the latch it

resisted the effort she made to open it, though she had not heard the

key turn in the lock. This seemed strange, but being under the

influence of a much stronger excitement than she herself realised, she

turned back without thinking seriously of it, being willing to believe

that her sight had deceived her, where the light was so dim, and that

the door had not been really open at all. Her eyes met those of the

maid, who had evidently come to the threshold of the dressing-room to

watch her.

'I thought that door was open,' she said, as if in answer to a

question.

The woman said nothing, but passed her quickly and went and tried the

lock herself. Though she was so very thin, she was strong, as bony

people often are. She tried the handle with both hands, turned it,

though with much difficulty, and pulled suddenly with all her might.

The door yielded a little at first--not more than half an inch

perhaps--but then it closed itself again with a strength far greater

than she could resist. She shrugged her shoulders as she desisted and

came back.




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