“What! no change in twelve months!” he exclaimed, in a key of surprise. “Oh, but, of course, the world flows very deliberately in that sleepy old village. And how is Mrs. Ramsay?”
“Very well; she generally has a houseful of nephews and nieces, very Irish and lively.”
“And the Hogbens—are they flourishing?”
“Yes, old Mrs. Topham is dead; she left a great deal of money in unexpected places. Tom and Dilly are comparatively rich, and have moved into Claringsbold.”
“So Miss Susan will have to look out for another gardener?”
“Yes; but she keeps three and a boy. She has a beautiful Panhard landaulet.”
“I say—you don’t mean it!”
“And she is talking of putting up a conservatory, and has begun to build a cottage hospital.”
“I won’t recognise the place. Is the Drum still standing? Have you a rink and a theatre?”
Aurea smiled.