They were taking off their things when the door opposite them opened and Uncle William’s puffy red face appeared in the opening. He came forward with slightly exaggerated affability.
‘I’m glad to see you—both of you,’ he said. ‘I suppose you’ve heard our terrible news? Julia now. Come in, will you? I believe my mother’ll be down in a moment or two. She’s upstairs just now talking to Doctor Lavrock. I suppose the man knows his business.’
He escorted them into a room that would have been sunlit had it not been for the light Holland blinds drawn down over the two windows which faced the drive. This, it was evident, was the main family sitting-room. Originally intended for a breakfast-room, it naturally retained a great deal of its original furniture. The mahogany breakfast table and sideboa
