The bachelor vicar of the next parish seemed to find a strange pleasure in her society.

He was away now in Switzerland and he had written to Dolly a minute account of his long, tiresome journey.
She wondered, with a feeling of pain at her heart, what Godfrey would think of them all.

There had been such an air of charm and gaiety about the place nine years ago.

Now, beautiful in a sense as was the stately Georgian house, lovely as was the garden, thanks to Janet's cleverness and hard work, there was an air of shabbiness over everything though Betty only fully realised it on the very rare occasions when she got away for a few days for a change and rest with old friends.
This summer her brother Jack had said a word to her, not exactly complainingly, but with a sort of regret.

"Don't you think we could afford new furniture covers for the drawing-room ?" and Betty had shaken her head.