"The news came by post," said Mrs. Fortress.
"In a letter from my father?" I asked.
"Your father did not write," said Mrs. Fortress.
There was a significance in her tone, usually so cold and impassive, which attracted my attention.
"But the news concerns my father."
"Yes, it concerns your father."
"He is ill."
"He has been seriously ill. You will learn all from your mother."
Before I entered my mother's chamber I divined the truth.
"You sent for me, mother," I said.