Caddie back to Rectory Cottage had, after the first ten minutes, subsided into a drizzle. Mrs. Caddie, who had hung her coat in the scullery in order that it might not drip on the kitchen floor, now put it on again and, accepting the loan of Miss Alvina’s second-best umbrella, went out into the dusk and resumed her homeward way. It was about a quarter of an hour later that Cicely Hathaway, answering the telephone, heard an agitated voice enquire if Mr. Frank was at home. “I’m afraid he isn’t. It’s Miss Vinnie, isn’t it?” “Oh, yes. Oh dear—what shall I do!” “Is there anything wrong?” She heard Miss Alvina catch her breath. “Oh, my dear, yes! I’m afraid so—I’m really dreadfully afraid so. But I don’t know what to think—I feel I must have someone to advise me. It’s too much responsibility, and I’m afraid it may be very serious indeed.
