“Then, Tom, you must have moved it,” said Raeburn sharply. “It's a most provoking thing; I specially wanted to quote from it.”
“I've not touched it,” said Tom. “It's those servants; they never can leave the papers alone.”
He was turning over the contents of a paper rack, evidently not in the best of tempers. Rose sprang forward.
“Let me help,” she said with one of her irresistible smiles.
Erica felt more provoked than she would have cared to own. It was very clear that those two would never find anything.
“Look here, Erica,” said Raeburn, “do see if it isn't upstairs. Tom is a terrible hand at finding things.”
So she searched in every nook and cranny of the house and at last found the torn remains of the paper in the house maid's cupboard. The rest of it had been used for lighting a fire.
Raeburn was a good deal annoyed.
“Surely, my dear, such things might be prevented,” he said, not crossly but in the sort of forbearing expostulatory tone which a woman dislikes more than anything, specially if she happens to be a careful housekeeper.
“I told you it was your servants!” said Tom triumphantly.