Mr. Falkirk realised that Mrs. Barrowfield’s faintness was due to over-indulgence.
He therefore made no protest, but walked across the room and opening the door let himself out into the dim ugly hall.
To furnish it there was only the deal table where he had left his hat and a hard chair where he had laid his cloak when he first arrived.
On either side of the hall he could hear the sound of noisy voices and from above up the uncarpeted stairs the wailing of small children.
He had an instinctive feeling that he would find Tara with the children who were crying. He climbed the stairs slowly, holding onto the banister that not only wanted polishing but also mending, and finally reached the landing.
The Orphanage was built in two stories and, when it was completed on the Duchess Harriet’s
