This was when I chanced to see the third-storey staircase door (which of late had always been kept locked) open slowly, and give passage to the form of Grace Poole, in prim cap, white apron, and handkerchief; when I watched her glide along the gallery, her quiet tread muffled in a list slipper; when I saw her look into the bustling, topsy-turvy bedrooms,--just say a word, perhaps, to the charwoman about the proper way to polish a grate, or clean a marble mantelpiece, or take stains from papered walls, and then pass on.
Esto sucedía cuando veía abrirse la puerta de la escalera del tercer piso y aparecer a Grace Poole, con su cofia almidonada y su delantal blanco, deslizándose por la galería con su paso tranquilo, mirando el interior de los revueltos dormitorios, y diciendo alguna palabra a los asistentes a propósito de la limpieza, del polvo de las chimeneas, del modo de quitar las manchas de las paredes empapeladas...