Sentence:  It was Giselle , the fille de chambre , come to clean the room , and while she <WSD>stood</WSD> before him with ears pricked up and regard all curiosity , explaining her errand , Alex could see from the corner of his eye the doctor doing all he could to calm the displeased bird . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  be standing; be upright