They were all—with the exception of Le, who was on duty on his ship—assembled in a handsome front room overlooking the Strada.
The earl, whose health was so much improved that his friends hoped for its full restoration, sat in his easy chair beside a little stand, playing a game of chess with Wynnette, who had developed into a champion chess player, and was much harder to beat than ever her father had been.
Mr. Force, who, suffering from a return of his malady, lay on a sofa, pale and patient, but in too much pain to read or to talk. Odalite sat near him, silently working on the silk flower embroidery she had learned to like from her mother’s example.
Elva and Rosemary, at a round table, were turning over a set of “views” left by Le on his previous visit.
Mrs. Force was opening a newspaper received that morning, and smoothing it out, preparatory to reading it aloud to her family.
Suddenly she dropped the paper, covered her face with her hands, and fell back in her chair, wailing forth the words:
“Oh, my Lord! my Lord! This is the very hardest thing to bear of all that went before!”
CHAPTER III
THE NEWS
Who that endured them ever shall forget
The emotions of that spirit-trying time,