Page 406 - of-human-bondage-

LII

ext day Philip arrived at Blackstable. Since the death of
Nhis mother he had never lost anyone closely connect-
ed with him; his aunt’s death shocked him and filled him
also with a curious fear; he felt for the first time his own
mortality. He could not realise what life would be for his
uncle without the constant companionship of the woman
who had loved and tended him for forty years. He expected
to find him broken down with hopeless grief. He dreaded
the first meeting; he knew that he could say nothing which
would be of use. He rehearsed to himself a number of ap-
posite speeches.
He entered the vicarage by the side-door and went into
the dining-room. Uncle William was reading the paper.
‘Your train was late,’ he said, looking up.
Philip was prepared to give way to his emotion, but the
matter-of-fact reception startled him. His uncle, subdued
but calm, handed him the paper.
‘There’s a very nice little paragraph about her in The
Blackstable Times,’ he said.
Philip read it mechanically.
‘Would you like to come up and see her?’
Philip nodded and together they walked upstairs. Aunt
Louisa was lying in the middle of the large bed, with flow-
ers all round her.

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