Chapter 23

⁠​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​⁠Philippa and Helen met in the drawing-room, a few minutes before eight that evening. Philippa was wearing a new black dress, a model of simplicity to the untutored eye, but full of that undefinable appeal to the mysterious which even the greatest artist frequently fails to create out of any form of colour. Some fancy had induced her to strip off her jewels at the last moment, and she wore no ornam