Dressed for warmth in a calf-length woollen dress and thick shawl, Alice stood by a south facing window, watching the day struggle to emerge. Below, the lawn and hedge were dusted with snow. The street was empty. In the near distance, the waters of Long Island Sound were a grey ribbon beneath a heavy sky.
She faced a difficult day. The first day back in the office after Christmas and she had decided to break the news she had been holding back, even from Foster, ever since the Tibetan first revealed his plans for the second part of the New Group of World Servers project, plans that would increase the workload considerably.
Feeling the chill through the window, she drew away and returned to the fireside, where her cat, Tom, was curled up on the hearth rug. She had been feeling stronger aft
