She came to me on a Thursday morning without Eli announcing her and without any of the usual structure of an arranged meeting.
I was in the east sitting room reviewing correspondence when she appeared in the doorway, dressed in traveling clothes rather than household attire, which was the first indication of what the conversation was going to be. Traveling clothes in the morning, on a Thursday with no journey on the household schedule, meant a decision had already been made.
Evelyne had always been direct when it counted.
"I would like to go home," she said.
No preamble. No manufactured fragility. Just a woman stating a clear and considered decision.
"All right," I said.
She looked at me for a moment, clearly prepared for a more complicated response.
