““Mr. Robbins let slip that he had not been sleeping well. He’d given up his room at the lodging house to a lady traveling by herself, who’d come into Nowshera too tired to stand, when Nowshera was overrun and beds impossible to find. When the lady left, the landlord had given the room to someone else, leaving Mr. Robbins to sleep in rather atrocious places.” “Dear me,” said Lady Vera. “He didn’t know it, but that lady was Mrs. Marsden. And I, for one, will always be grateful that he helped her when there was absolutely nothing in it for him.” Lady Vera set down her tea. She reached forward and took Leo’s hands. “Thank you, Mr. Marsden. Sometimes I forget that beneath Michael’s ambition, there is not a void, but much kindness. Thank you for reminding me.””
