All the houses were tall and secret, with high white steps and flat faces.

A cat slipped across the street; another swiftly followed it.
St.Dreot's seemed near at hand again and Ellen the cook not so far away.

Maggie felt a sudden forlornness and desolation.
"What a very quiet street!" she whispered, as though she were afraid lest the street should hear.
They stopped before one of the flat-faced houses; Aunt Anne rang the bell, and an old woman with a face like a lemon helped the cabman with the boxes.

Maggie was standing in a hall that smelt of damp and geraniums.

It was intensely dark, and a shrill scream from somewhere did not make things more pleasant.
"That's Edward the parrot," said Aunt Anne.