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Whether, or not, Lucia was right in accusing Octavia Bassett of being clever, and thinking a great deal, is a riddle which those who are interested in her must unravel as they read; but, whether the surmise was correct or incorrect, it seemed possible that she had thought a little after the interview. When Barold saw her next, he was struck by a slight but distinctly definable change he recognized in her dress and coiffure. Her pretty hair had a rather less "professional" appearance: he had the pleasure of observing, for the first time, how very white her forehead was, and how delicate the arch of her eyebrows; her dress had a novel air of simplicity, and the diamond rings were nowhere to be seen.
"She's better dressed than usual," he said to himself. "And she's always well dressed, -- rather too well dressed, fact is, for a place like this. This sort of thing is in better form, under the circumstances. " It was so much "better form," and he so far approved of it, that he quite thawed, and was very amiable and very entertaining indeed.