In the evening dimness of old Mrs. Maldon's sitting-room stood theyouthful virgin, Rachel Louisa Fleckring. The prominent fact abouther appearance was that she wore an apron. Not one of thosewhite, waist-tied aprons, with or without bibs, worn proudly,uncompromisingly, by a previous generation of unaspiring housewivesand housegirls! But an immense blue pinafore-apron, covering the wholefront of the figure except the head, hands, and toes. Its virtues werethat it fully protected the most fragile frock against all the perilsof the kitchen; and that it could be slipped on or off in onesecond, without any manipulation of tapes, pins, or buttons andbuttonholes—for it had no fastenings of any sort and merely yawnedbehind. In one second the drudge could be transformed into the elegantinfanta of boudoirs, and vice versa. To suit the coquetry ofthe age the pinafore was enriched with certain flouncings, which,however, only intensified its unshapen ugliness.
On a plain, middle-aged woman such a pinafore would have beenintolerable to the sensitive eye. But on Rachel it simply hada piquant and perverse air, because she was young, with theincomparable, the unique charm of comely adolescence; it simplyexcited the imagination to conceive the exquisite treasures of contourand tint and texture which it veiled. Do not infer that Rachel wasa coquette. Although comely, she was homely—a "downright"girl, scorning and hating all manner of pretentiousness. She had a fine bestdress, and when she put it on everybody knew that it