At last he dare look at her no longer, but stammering out his promise
to do all he could to get her the vacant post, he pressed her hand
gently, and bade her good morning.
Then he returned to his chair, and, leaning back in it, was seeing
once again in his mind's eye the fair face of the girl who had just
left him, when there was a rap at the door, and the commissionaire
announced Miss Martin.
"Another of them," Kelson said to himself. "And about as pretty in her
way as the last. Now I wonder what she wants." He looked closely at
her, but no past rose up before him--as far as this client was
concerned his power of divination in that direction was nil--she was a
blank.
"I've come to ask you the meaning of a dream I had last night," she
began, inwardly shuddering at the sight of so much pomade and
jewellery.
"Yes," he said with an encouraging smile, "what was it?"
Of course she did not tell him all, but merely that she had dreamed of
certain flowers and trees as, curiously enough, so had her father.
Kelson looked at her thoughtfully. Once he opened his mouth to speak
and then checked himself; and it was some seconds before he actually
broke silence.
"Taken separately," he said at last, "the ash tree portends an
unexpected visit; a poppy, a visit from a man; red roses, falling in
love; lilac, a present; a willow, kisses--heaps of them; bluebells, a
proposal; brambles, difficulties in the way--for example, tiresome
relatives; buttercups, a marriage; an ash tree, a son and heir--a dear
little----"
"Thank you!" Gladys remarked, rising frigidly.
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