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faintest of sniffs came from Nurse Hopkins.
    Elinor said, “Poor darling. It upset me terribly seeing her like that.”
    “Of course. But you didn't show it. You must have great self-control.”
    Elinor said, her lips set very straight, “I've learned not - to show my feelings.”
    The doctor said slowly, “All the same, the mask's bound to slip once in a while.”
    Nurse Hopkins had bustled into the bathroom. Elinor said, raising her delicate eyebrows and looking full at him, “The mask?”
    Dr. Lord said, “The human face is, after all, nothing more nor less than a mask.”
    “And underneath?”
    “Underneath is the primitive man or woman.”
    She turned away quickly and led the way downstairs. Peter Lord followed, puzzled and unwontedly serious.
    Roddy came out into the hall to meet them. “Well?” he asked anxiously.
    Elinor said, “Poor darling. It's very sad to see her. I shouldn't go, Roddy -till- till- she asks for you.”
    Roddy asked, “Did she want anything - special?”
    Peter Lord said to Elinor, “I must be off now. There's nothing more I can do for the moment. I'll look in early tomorrow. Good-bye, Miss Carlisle. Don't - don't worry too much.”
    He held her hand in his for a moment or two. He had a strangely reassuring and comforting clasp. He looked at her, Elinor thought, rather oddly as though - as though he was sorry for her.
    As the door shut behind the doctor, Roddy repeated his question.
    Elinor said, “Aunt Laura is worried about - about certain business matters. I managed to pacify her and told her Mr. Seddon would certainly come down tomorrow. We must telephone him first thing.”
    Roddy asked, “Does she want to make a new will?”
    Elinor answered, “She didn't say so.”
    “What did she -?”
    He stopped in the middle of the question.
    Mary Gerrard was running down the stairs. She crossed the hall and disappeared through the door to the kitchen quarters.
    Elinor said in a harsh voice, “Yes? What is it you wanted to ask?”
    Roddy said vaguely, “I - what? I've forgotten what it was.”
    He was staring at the door through which Mary Gerrard had gone.
    Elinor's hands closed. She could feel her long, pointed nails biting into the flesh of her palms. She thought, I can't bear it -I can't bear it. It's not imagination - it's true. Roddy - Roddy, I CAN'T lose you. And she thought, What did that man - the doctor - what did he see in my face upstairs? He saw something.... Oh, God, how awful life is - to feel as I feel now. Say something, fool. Pull yourself together!
    Aloud she said, in her calm voice, “About meals, Roddy. I'm not very hungry. I'll sit with Aunt Laura and the nurses can both come down.”
    Roddy said in alarm, “And have dinner with we?” Elinor said coldly, “They won't bite you!”
    “But what about you? You must have something. Why don't we dine first, and let them come down afterward?”
    Elinor said, “No, the other way's better.” She added wildly, “They're so touchy, you know.”
    She thought, I can't sit through a meal with him - alone - talking -behaving as usual.
    She said impatiently, “Oh, do let me arrange things my own way!”

Sad Cypress

Chapter 4
    It was no mere housemaid who wakened Elinor the following morning. It was Mrs. Bishop in person, rustling in her old-fashioned black, and weeping unashamedly.
    “Oh, Miss Elinor, she's gone.”
    “What?”
    Elinor sat up in bed.
    “Your dear aunt. Mrs. Welman. My dear mistress. Passed away in her sleep.”
    “Aunt Laura? Dead?”
    Elinor stared. She seemed unable to take it in.
    Mrs. Bishop was weeping now with more abandon. “To think of it,” she sobbed. “After all these years! Eighteen years I've been here. But indeed it doesn't seem like it.”
    Elinor said slowly, “So Aunt Laura died in her sleep - quite peacefully. What a blessing for her!”
    Mrs. Bishop wept.
    “So sudden. The doctor saying he'd call again this morning and everything just as usual.”
    Elinor said rather sharply,