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troubles.”
    This was probably true, as Dorothy Brown and herself happened to be the only unattached members of the party, all the rest being married couples or pairs of close friends.In return for such confidences, Dorothy felt that the only item of interest in her own life was her legacy and indeed that seemed to interest Leila greatly.
    “And where are you going to live now, dear? she asked.
    “Well, besides the legacy,” said Dorothy almost apologetically, “my uncle left me a house in Darnley. I don’t suppose you’d have heard of Darnley, it’s a little town, really only a large village, in Warwickshire.”
    “The very heart of old England!” exclaimed Leila.
    “But it’s really too big a house for me,’ went on Dorothy, “and my solicitor advises me to sell it, so I may get a flat there instead, or somewhere else I suppose – I don’t quite know.”
    “You vague little thing!” said Leila affectionately.
    The day after this conversation, while admiring the stupendous views from Delphi, Leila resumed the subject.
    “I think it would be a shame to sell your dear uncle’s house. Why not get a friend to share it with you? Two living together is so much cheaper than one.”
    “I haven’t any friend who would want to, I am afraid,” said Dorothy. There was silence; the sun was disappearing behind the vast violet mountains and a wild impossible idea invaded her.
    “I don’t suppose …’ she faltered, “oh, of course not, but you’re so kind, you’ll forgive me asking, but I don’t suppose you could think ever of sharing the house with me yourself.”
    “You darling thing!” cried Leila. “How marvellous of you to propose such a thing! It might, d’you know, it might be possible, it just possibly might. Let’s sleep on it, shall we?”
    Peacefully Leila slept on it, but Dorothy alternated between huge hopes and fears. She settled for fears, it would be too good to be true. But it wasn’t.
    In the morning Leila said, “Well, darling, shall we give it a trial?”
    When Leila actually saw the house, it obviously wouldn’t quite do as it stood, but after getting the willing Dorothy to throw out an extension and put in an extra window to the best room – “After all, dear, it’s improving the value of your property” – she found it took in her furniture quite satisfactorily, and so they settled down together and the long years passed, bringing, almost imperceptibly, unhappy changes to both.
    For Leila, discontent became a way of life, only assuaged by eating and sleeping; Dorothy, for whom the glory had long departed, was always tired. One day, climbing the hill to Leila’s favourite Delicatessen to shop, she had fainted and was brought home in an ambulance. The doctor said she was suffering from severe anaemia. It was just about then that Leila had developed her nervous headaches – she was approaching seventy and Dorothy five or so years older – what was to be done? The answer was found in The Haven where there actually happened to be two rooms vacant at the same time – two adjoining rooms, one large and one small. It was providential.
    “How cosy this is,” Leila had said, looking round the small one. “you’ll be so snug in here, Dot dear.”

4
THE COMMITTEE MEETING
    MOST COMMITTEES consist of one member (usually the chairman) who appears to be doing a great deal of important work, and another (usually the secretary) who really does it. Besides these two essential components, there is often someone who is constantly puzzled to find themselves on a committee at all, and another who seems to have been born there and whose lifelong hobby is to serve on as many others as possible. Most committees also contain certain ex-officio members of one sort or another and a spare part or two.
    The house committee of The Haven was no exception to this. Lady Merivale had a reputation for philanthropy to keep up in her own eyes, as well as among her neighbours, and she was successful as a