"But without undue lyrical expression?" murmured Sophia.

"Darling - don't you understand? I've tried not to say I love you -"

She stopped me.

"I do understand, Charles. And I like your funny way of doing things. And you may come and see me when you come back - if you still want to -"

It was my turn to interrupt.

"There's do doubt about that."

"There's always a doubt about everything, Charles. There may always be some incalculable factor that upsets the apple cart. For one thing, you don't know much about me, do you?"

"I don't even know where you live in

England."

"I live at Swinly Dean."

I I nodded at the mention of the wellknown outer suburb of London which boasts three excellent golf courses for the city financier.

She added softly in a musing voice: "In a little crooked house…"

I must have looked slightly startled, for she seemed amused, and explained by elaborating the quotation " 'And they all lived together in a little crooked house.' That's us. Not really such a little house either.

But definitely crooked - running to gables and halftimbering!" ^ "Are you one of a large family? Brothers and sisters?"

"One brother, one sister, a mother, a father, an uncle, an aunt by marriage, a grandfather, a great aunt and a step grandmother."

"Good gracious!" I exclaimed, slightly overwhelmed.

She laughed.^

"Of course we don't normally all live together. The war and blitzes have brought that about - but I don't know -" she frowned reflectively - "perhaps spiritually the family has always lived together - under my grandfather's eye and protection.

He's rather a Person, my grandfather. He's over eighty, about four foot ten, and everybody else looks rather dim beside him."

"He sounds interesting," I said.

"He is interesting. He's a Greek from

Smyrna. Aristide Leonides." She added, with a twinkle, "He's extremely rich."