Sibyl went up at twenty past ten with a candle and a look that took in the library door, the unfamiliar fire in the grate behind it, and the pile of bound music on the table, and priced all three.
“Goodnight, Héloïse.”
“Goodnight.”
“Your fire is very early today.”
“It is,” Héloïse said, and did not explain it, and Nell watched Sibyl wait four full seconds for the explanation and not get one, and thought: that is the first brick out of that wall, and she felt it come out, and neither of them is going to say so tonight.
The stairs took Sibyl’s candle up and round. The house settled. Somewhere below them Mrs Pardoe drew the range down for the night and the pipes knocked twice.
“Before you start,” Héloïse said, “I am going to say one thing, and then I shall not interrupt you again.”
“Say it.”…
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