And when they reached Fountains, where only the hall light burned dimly, shining out through the staircase window, he stood on the barely illuminated steps and put his key deliberately in the lock, and then stood aside for her to enter—still without saying a word.Stacey felt the coldness of the hall strike into her as she entered it. She was glad when he switched on the light in the library, and she could see, that for once, Miss Fountain had had the forethought to leave them a small banked-up fire in the grate, and a tray of sandwiches and a Thermos flask of coffee set down on a little table drawn invitingly close to it. Or maybe it was Hannah who had had the thought for her mistress’s comfort. Hannah was developing quite an attachment for Stacey since she had arrived at the house in the guise of its new chatelaineMartin went forward and stirred the fire with the poker, and Stacey drew near to it and held her hands to the warmth. He looked at her keenly for a moment, and he noticed that, although her face had blanched a little as a result of the slight rawness of the night, there was a reminiscent gleam of pleasure in her eyes, which told him that she had enjoyed her evening.He saw her, however, shiver slightly, and he removed the cap from the Thermos flask and poured her a cup of steaming coffee, which she sipped gratefully.
