“And what is the one thing, my dear?”
“The one thing that is making us all so anxious is this. You know I told you that there are three young Aldworth girls. Molly is one, Ethel another, and Nesta, the third. Nesta has been very difficult and very troublesome, and the fact is she has run away.” Mrs Johnston did not know why she suddenly gave a little jump, but the next minute she said quickly:
“How old is she?”
“About fifteen, I think.”
“Rather big for her age?”
“I should say she was; she is unformed; she is rather untidy.”
“Awkward, I should say. Shouldn’t you now pronounce her awkward?”
“I think I should. I don’t know her very well, you see. I have only seen her once, and Marcia has told me about her. She is a very difficult girl.”
“And how long is it since she left home?”
“She left home last Saturday week. She ran away first to Scarborough to stay with some friends. We were all distressed about that, and we had to tell a story to Mrs Aldworth which partly satisfied her. We didn’t tell her anything that wasn’t true. We said Nesta had gone to stay with the Griffiths, and we thought it best that she should stay there for a few days. Then we got Mrs Aldworth to Hurst Castle, and she has been doing splendidly ever since. But the difficulty is that we shall have to tell her soon that we really don’t know where Nesta is. We don’t know, and we are in great trouble.”