Chapter ThreeJoseph had started life as Giuseppe in a newly arrived Italian family some fifty years before. He had now been Joseph for most of that time, and he spoke with much less accent than Anna. They had married as a matter of convenience. He was dark and of medium height, with the manner of a superior upper servant. When he had set down the tea-tray and gone out of the room, the Miss Benevents told Candida all about him and Anna, speaking in alternate sentences.
‘He served in the first world war and was wounded.’
‘He was lame for quite a long time.’
‘He has been with us ever since he recovered.’
‘He was, fortunately, too old to be called up in the last war.’
‘He is not at all suited to be a soldier.’
‘He and Anna got married instead. It is more convenient that way.’
‘It is muc
