at arm's length, and regarding it thoughtfully. "Stylish, isn't
it?"

"Oh, it'll suit you all right, and it would have suited me at
your age. A bit too dressy for me now, though wearing better
than some other people, I daresay. I was never the one to
pretend to be what I wasn't. If I'm fifty-five, I'm fifty-five
--that's what I say."

"Fifty-eight, isn't it, auntie?"

"I was just giving that as an example," said Mrs. Stevens with
great dignity.

Audrey threaded a needle, held her hand out and looked at her
nails critically for a moment, and then began to sew.

"Funny thing that about Mr. Mark's brother. Fancy not seeing
your brother for fifteen years." She gave a self-conscious laugh
and went on, "Wonder what I should do if I didn't see Joe for
fifteen years."

"As I told you all this morning," said her aunt, "I've been here
five years, and never heard of a brother. I could say that
before everybody if I was going to die to-morrow. There's been
no brother here while I've been here."

"You could have knocked me down with a feather when he spoke
about him at breakfast this morning. I didn't hear what went
before, naturally, but they was all talking about the brother