2: The Arrival

IF the Michelmores were an unusual family, their home was also out of the ordinary. A comparatively small abode when George Michelmore bought it, it had been enlarged by the addition of a wing at either side, projecting at an angle from the main building. As it faced south it thus earned its name,"Sunbay."

Each wing formed two flats and each flat was given up to one of his children, so that all possessed a self-contained home of their own, with a sitting-room, a bedroom, a bath room and a tiny kitchenette. Every flat had its own front door, the upper ones being approached by a narrow staircase.

The dining-room and lounge in the main building were shared by all, when they so chose, but they could entertain their own friends in their own way in their own apartment. They could also work undisturbed in the particular line they elected to adopt. The older son, Garnet, having entered the Church, the arrangement suited him very well. He had a ground floor flat. Jasper, with artistic ambitions, occupied the one over it, his sitting-room or studio boasting a north light.

As for the girls, Emerald had the upper flat on the other side. She was a writer, though so far little of her work had found a publisher. When Pearl became of age, she had been presented with the key of the remaining suite. She was proud of it but, having domestic rather than professional inclinations, she spent much of her time with her father or, when he was away, with Nan, whose real name, if anyone remembered it, was Hannah Wood. Pearl also had a Cairn terrier, Sandy--her faithful guardian and companion.

It was part