"Not in every case," said Ben. "Not in this case. Any advice I can give to you is free, because I'm so sorry about your birthdays. But I can't advise until I know everything, so you must tell me. First about your mother. Tell me all about her tastes. Is she fond of reading?"
"Yes," said Eva.
"New books or old?"
"New books," said Eva. "They come from the library. French books too."
"Is she fond of flowers?"
"Yes," said Eva, "she likes tulips."
"And has she any favourite colours?"
"A kind of purply pink," said Eva, after consideration.
"No," said Eric, firmly; "yellow. All the French books are yellow, and that proves it."
"Does she write a lot of letters?" Ben asked.