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The StrangerEustace Kinnit was the author of many books and pamphlets on various aspects of the china collector’s art as well as being an enthusiastic correspondent on the subject. The small study where he did his endless writing was at the far end of the gallery which ran round the staircase well, on the same floor as the sitting room. There was a sliver of light under the door as Timothy approached after leaving Miss Alison and her friend, and he stood outside for a moment, hesitating, with an anxious expression in his eyes which was new there. Any sort of nervousness was foreign to his temperament and he bore it awkwardly. Presently he pushed his hand over his hair, stiffened his shoulder, and walked in more abruptly than he would have done at any other time in his life.
Eustace was
