* * * * *
Ten minutes later, Gracie stood in the great hall with the red glow of the fire spreading all about her, her bright eyes surveying the master of the house who lay back in a low easy-chair with his wife kneeling beside him and Caesar the Dalmatian curled up with much complacence at his feet.
"How very comfy you look!" she remarked.
And, "We are comfy," said Piers, with a smile.