The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
page 12 of 496 (02%)
page 12 of 496 (02%)
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wondering how long Mr. Greatorex would be over his dying. If she had
looked a little deeper she would have found herself hoping that Mr. Greatorex was already dead. If Mr. Greatorex was dead before he got to Upthorne he would come very soon, perhaps before prayer-time. And he would be shown into the drawing-room. Would he? Would Essy have the sense? No. Not unless the lamp was lit there. Essy wouldn't show him into a dark room. And Essy was stupid. She might have _no_ sense. She might take him straight into the study and Papa would keep him there. Trust Papa. Alice got up from her sofa and left the room; moving with her weary grace and a little air of boredom and of unconcern. She was always most unconcerned when she was most intent. Outside in the passage she stood a moment, listening. All the ways of the house gave upon the passage in a space so narrow that by stretching out one arm she could have touched both walls. With a door open anywhere the passage became a gully for the north wind. Now, with all doors shut, it was as if the breath of the house was being squeezed out there, between closing walls. The passage, instead of dividing the house, drew it together tight. And this tightness was intolerable to Alice. She hated it. She hated the whole house. It was so built that there wasn't a corner in it where you could get away from Papa. His study |
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