Advena poured cupfuls of it from on high to see the foam rise, till her mother told her for mercy's sake to get on with those dishes.

She stood before a long low window, looking out into the garden and the light, filtering through apple branches on her face showed her strongly featured and intelligent for fourteen.

Advena was named after one grandmother; when the next girl came Mrs Murchison, to make an end of the matter, named it Abigail, after the other.

She thought both names outlandish and acted under protest, but hoped that now everybody would be satisfied.

Lorne came after Advena, at the period of a naive fashion of christening the young sons of Canada in the name of her Governor-General.