“Goodness! What was that?” cried Blanche.
A swallow had swept in through the open window, had curved round in one swift movement, and shot out again into the sunlight.
“Only a bird of some sort,” said Millie, but she was trembling and on the verge of hysterics. “Do let’s get out, B.”
After they had put on their own clothes once more they became aware that they were hungry.
“We have wasted a lot of time here,” said Blanche as they made their way out.
She did not pause to wonder how many women had spent the best part of their lives in a precisely similar manner.
“And we ought to have been looking for food,” she added.
“Come on,” replied Millie. “That place has given me the creeps.”