"Yes, thank you. There was no groom in the yard, so Tom had to unyoke by himself."
"Oh. I'm sorry. You see, we only have one man to do the stable and the garden, and he happens to be in the garden this afternoon."
She tried to sound indifferent; but she was wracked with anxiety. Sarah was obviously annoyed about something. John might not be home for ever so long. Then, worst of all, the Bannisters were the last people whom she wished to encounter David Rossitur. They would disapprove of him dreadfully.
"Which way did you come?" she asked.
"We came from Hardrascliffe. I have been to see Ursula."
"Oh, any news?"
Sarah cast a decorous eye at David.
"None," she remarked discreetly.
Mary smiled. David already knew all about Ursula. For a stranger whom she had only known three days, he must have heard a good many queer things, she thought.
"I think it was most inconsiderate of Ursula to go into a Hardrascliffe nursing-home. It is a very long drive there."