“That’ll be sensible, miss, and it’s ever so nice to ’ave you back with us,” Mrs. Johnson replied.
There was so much warmth in her voice that Nolita was smiling as she went down the stairs and opened the door of the sitting room.
She had intended to shut the windows and draw the curtains, but, as she entered the room, she saw that there was somebody standing with his back to the mantelpiece and felt her heart leap as if it would jump from her body.
At the same time she felt as if the room was lit with a thousand candles.
Because the house was small, the Marquis seemed larger than usual and yet, as Nolita walked towards him, she thought that it was somehow right that he should be here and it was what she had longed for and hoped for even though she dare not put it into words.
Then she
