Neave’s door.Visitors, Mrs. Price had said. It could only be her parents, summoned by Mrs. Neave, come to chastise and humiliate her. Even worse, they would be angry with Mrs. Neave, as Lucy had said. Suppose there was an argument? Her father would be sure to shout. I shan’t be able to bear it, she thought, if my father makes a fuss and people hear.“Come in,” said Mrs. Neave.Two women sat in the visitors’ chairs. One was Mary Ann’s mother. For a moment Mary Ann did not recognize the sharp-faced older woman wearing an elegant but slightly old-fashioned hat. Then she exclaimed, “Grandmama!” and dropped a curtsy. Her mind was racing. Why was her grandmother here? Was the whole family to be involved in her disgrace? It would be too dreadful to bear.She was surprised when her grandmother looked her up and down with evident approval.“You’ve grown,” she said.People always said that. But Mary Ann realized that her grandmother had not seen her for…how long was it? Two years?
