"She might be used to worse things," said Mr. Lake.
"I have got a--visitor coming to stay with me," resumed Mrs. Chester, making a pause before the word visitor, and then going on with a cough, as if a fish-bone had stuck in her throat.
"Who is it?"
"Lady Ellis."
"Lady Ellis!" echoed Mr. Lake, unaware that his sister had any one of the name on her visiting list. "Who on earth is Lady Ellis?"
"Well, she is a friend of the Jupps'."
"Oh. And why is she going to visit you?"
"Because I choose to ask her," returned Mrs. Chester, in a reproving tone meant for the public benefit, while she gave her brother a private kick under the table. "She is a widow lady, just come home from India in the depth of her sorrow; and she wants to find some quiet country seclusion to put her poor bereaved head into."
Mr. Lake concluded that the kick was intended as a warning against asking questions. He put a safe one.
"Is she staying with the Jupps?"