She remembered noticing that Gladys the housekeeper didn’t show any emotion at all before she took herself off, like a quiet grey ghost not all interested in the affairs of the humans she served.It was Stuart who moved first. He got to his feet as easily and as casually as though he often spent an evening kneeling beside the Matron of St. Genevieve’s.“Hello, William. What can I do for you? Like a drink?” He walked across to the tray without waiting for William’s answer.Elizabeth picked up her glass and stared at it fixedly as if such an action would release the tension that was becoming rapidly unbearable. Apart from a curt nod William had ignored her presence. He accepted a drink from Stuart as impersonally as if it had been handed to him by a bartender.He glanced down at his glass as if surprised to see it there. “Well, cheers,” he said, and emptied it at a gulp.Stuart stared at him in utter astonishment. “William, is something wrong?”William put his glass down abruptly.
