Chapter Twelve.
The New Leaf.
As soon as ever the three Aldworth girls entered the house, they were met by their father. This in itself was quite unlooked-for. As a rule, he never returned home until time for late dinner in the evening. He was a very busy professional man, and was looked up to by his fellow townspeople. He now stood gravely in the hall, not going forward when he saw the girls, but waiting for them to come up to him.
“Well, Molly,” he said, “how do you do? How do you do, Ethel?”
He just touched Nesta’s forehead with his lips.
“I want you three in my study,” he said.
“Good gracious,” said Molly in a whisper, “it’s even more awful than we expected.”
But Ethel and Nesta felt subdued, they scarcely knew why. They all went into the study, and Mr Aldworth shut the door.