CHAPTER 17On the morning after Peter’s late visit to the hospital, Fredericka was wakened at a very early hour by Miss Sanders, who put down her breakfast tray on the bed table and instantly began to talk.
“Philippine Sutton’s smashed herself up. Did Colonel Mohun tell you?” she began.
Fredericka, who was never her best in the early morning, felt that she could have done with a more cheerful greeting. She made an appropriate noise sounding like an affirmative answer, and poured out her coffee.
“Yes. And they say it was that woman who caused all the trouble in the family. You never would have thought it now, would you? Well, I always did say, never trust these good women—they’re just whited sepulchres, that’s what they are—” She paused for breath and then a sudden thought occurred to her
