nto the train; and the
feel of his little slippery body, and the feel of Edwin's mighty arms,
seemed to make them more intimate than ever. Except for dirty
tear-marks on his cheeks, George's appearance was absolutely normal.

Edwin expected to receive a letter from him, but none came, and this
negligence wounded Edwin.

VOLUME FOUR, CHAPTER NINE.

THE ARRIVALS.

On a Saturday in the early days of the following year, 1892, Edwin by
special request had gone in to take afternoon tea with the Orgreaves.
Osmond Orgreave was just convalescent after an attack of influenza, and
in the opinion of Janet wanted cheering up. The task of enlivening him
had been laid upon Edwin. The guest, and Janet and her father and
mother sat together in a group round the fire in the drawing-room.

The drawing-room alone had grown younger with years. Money had been
spent on it rather freely. During the previous decade Osmond's family,
scattering, had become very much less costly to him, but his habits of
industry had not changed, nor his faculty for collecting money. Hence
the needs of the drawing-room, which had been pressing for quite twenty
years, had at last been satisfied; indeed Osmond was saving, through
mere lack of that energetic interest in things which is necessary to
spending. Possibly even the drawing-room would have remained
untouched--both Janet and her elder sister Marian sentimentally
preferred it as it was--had not Mrs Orgreave been `positively ashamed'
of it when her married children, including Marian, came to see her.
They were all married now, except Janet and Charlie and Johnnie; and
Alicia at any rate had a finer drawing-room than her mother. So far as
the parents were concerned Charlie might as well have been married, for
he had acquired a partnership in a practice at Ealing and seldom visited
home. Johnnie, too, might as well have been married. Since Jimmie's
wedding he had used the house strictly as a hotel, for sleeping and
eating, and not always for sleeping. He could not be retained at home.
His interests were mysterious, and lay outside it. Janet alone was
faithful to the changed drawing-room, with its new carpets and
wall-papers and upholstery.

"I've got more grandchildren than children now," said Mrs Orgreave to
Edwin, "and I never thought to have!"

"Have you really?" Edwin responded. "Let me see--"

"I've got nine."

"Ten, mother," Janet corrected. "She's forgetting her own grandchil