Charlotte he had provided for and had left that estimable lady in a state of delighted bewilderment at Abbot's Hotel, and the thought of returning to her, for both their sakes, was distasteful to him in the extreme.
After all, why should he not go on with the matter to which he had put his hand? Although a clerk, Edward Povey was one of those quiet-mannered men who can pass muster anywhere and in any society can hold their own by reason of their ability to efface themselves when necessary. He had been well educated and was possessed of a soft and careful diction. Also he was endowed with the most valuable knack of adapting himself to circumstances.
As he turned from the window he caught the reflection of himself in the large gilt-framed mirror that hung over the mantelpiece, and although he had seen the same reflection but a few minutes previously it now took on a new significance. If anything had been needed to endorse his decision to go on with what he had begun he found it in the picture, for he was confronted with a vastly different aspect of himself to that he had been used to as shown by the little cracked looking-glass in the counting-house of Messrs. Kyser, Schultz & Company in Eastcheap.
He saw a trim, dapper little person, looking not a day older than thirty-eight, with a keen, clean-shaven face that bordered on intellectuality. The gold-rimmed spectacles which framed his mild blue eyes together with his thinning hair gave him even a scholarly aspect. Edward had made good use of his newly acquired cheque-book, and he noted with satisfaction that the dark grey suit he had bought in Jermyn Street fitted him to a nicety. His linen was spotless, and a small black pearl showed with a dull richness in his dark blue tie. A thin gold chain across his waistcoat and a signet ring with a deep claret-coloured stone gave a touch of well-being to his appearance. His glance left the mirror and travelled down to his well-cut trousers, thence to his brown brogued shoes. Yes, he was eminently presentable, and as he turned again to his easy chair and his paper, he laughed at the recent doubts that had assailed him and which now were falling from him like water from the proverbial duck.