The new room at once produced a favourable impression on Agnes.
The large window, opening into a balcony, commanded an admirable
view of the canal. The decorations on the walls and ceiling were
skilfully copied from the exquisitely graceful designs of Raphael
in the Vatican. The massive wardrobe possessed compartments
of unusual size, in which double the number of dresses that Agnes
possessed might have been conveniently hung at full length.
In the inner corner of the room, near the head of the bedstead,
there was a recess which had been turned into a little dressing-room,
and which opened by a second door on the inferior staircase of
the hotel, commonly used by the servants. Noticing these aspects
of the room at a glance, Agnes made the necessary change in her dress,
as quickly as possible. On her way back to the drawing-room she was
addressed by a chambermaid in the corridor who asked for her key.
'I will put your room tidy for the night, Miss,' the woman said,
'and I will then bring the key back to you in the drawing-room.'
While the chambermaid was at her work, a solitary lady, loitering about
the corridor of the second storey, was watching her over the bannisters.
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