Penelope's letter had been written on board ship and posted from Liverpool, and it contained the joyful tidings that she and her husband had returned to England and proposed going straight to the Edenhall flat.

"You must come up and see us as soon as your visit to Trenby comes to an end," wrote Penelope, and Nan devoutly wished it could end that very moment.
"I don't think you heard me, Nan." Lady Gertrude's incisive voice cut sharply across the pulsing excitement of the girl's thoughts.
"I--I--no.

Did you speak to me ?" she faltered.

Her usual dainty assurance was fast disappearing beneath the nervous strain of living with Lady Gertrude.
The facts concerning great-aunt's death were recapitulated for her benefit, together with the explanation that, since Lady Gertrude, Roger, and Isobel would be obliged to stay the night with "Cousin Emily" in order to attend the funeral, Nan would be reluctantly left to her own devices.
"I can't very well take you with us--on such an occasion," meditated Lady Gertrude aloud.

"To Cousin Emily you would be a complete stranger, you see.