She had never seen anyone who was really beautiful before -- beautiful with the loveliness of the heroines in the novels she sometimes read or the pictures she had seen . Estella Bowes was not pretty . She was a nice-looking girl , with clear eyes , rosy cheeks , and a pervading air of the content and happiness her life had always known . She was an orphan and lived with her uncle and aunt . In the summer they sometimes took a boarder for a month or two , and this summer Miss LeMar had come . She had been with them about a week . She was an actress from the city and had around her all the glamour of a strange , unknown life . Nothing was known about her . The Boweses liked her well enough as a boarder . Estella admired and held her in awe . She wondered what Spencer would think of this beautiful woman . He had not yet seen her . It was quite dark when he came . Estella opened the gate for him , but he got out of his buggy and walked up the lane beside her with his arm about her . Miss LeMar 's light had removed to the parlour where she was singing , accompanying herself on the cottage organ . Estella felt annoyed . The parlour was considered her private domain on Wednesday and Saturday night , but Miss LeMar did not know that . `` Who is singing ? '' asked Spencer . `` What a voice she has ! ''
`` That 's our new XXXXX , Miss LeMar , '' answered Estella .
actress arm awe boarder buggy eyes glamour lane uncle voice