"Very well, my dear," she said at last. "I suppose you know your own business best."
John shook his head.
"Oh, no. I am beginning to think I am the very last person who knows my business best," he said, beginning to feel light-headed. "Perhaps I should ask Miss Wilton. She knows all about it, far better than I do."
He did not wait long enough for his astonished mother to ask any more questions, but kissed her and hurried away.
When he reached his bedroom he was horrified at how dilapidated it was. The four-poster bed had been magnificent when it was first built, with splendid gold ornamentation and crimson brocade hangings that were echoed in the curtains.
Now the hangings were threadbare and in some places actually in tatters.
They were dusty too, John thought, brushing them down an
