"But that's us!" gasped Jill.
There was a moment's silence. Then the bishop's sense of humour overcame him and he laughed loud, the ladies joining him, only Mr. Errington preserving his gravity.
As he descended the stairs again, he said to the vicar, "One lives and learns, Errington. I had forgotten the complex natures of children."
XIII
MONA'S TENTH
It seemed a long time to the children before Mona returned, and their first sight of her was a distinct shock to them.
She came back with a closely-cropped head, and a white face, looking so fragile that Bumps confided to Jack that she thought "Mona must be nearly dying."
But her voice and laugh reassured them.