The house had been so adroitly placed between six tall elms which were growing on the site beforehand, that they seemed like real ancestral trees; and the rooks, young and old, cawed melodiously to their visitor.
The door was not locked, and he entered.

No workmen appeared to be present, and he walked from sunny window to sunny window of the empty rooms, with a sense of seclusion which might have been very pleasant but for the antecedent knowledge that his almost paternal care of Lucy Savile was to be thrown away by her wilfulness.

Footsteps echoed through an adjoining room; and bending his eyes in that direction, he perceived Mr.
Jones, the architect.

He had come to look over the building before giving the contractor his final certificate.

They walked over the house together.