Matron was a striking woman and something of a forbidding beauty. Her pale face was free from any trace of cosmetics, and the full lips of her resolute mouth bore no lipstick's kiss. Beetle felt uneasy in her presence: the Matron was the epitome of stern authority. The note of austerity was sharpened by the seamed nylons, stiff brogues and the faint whiff of carbolic soap.
