The Alington Inheritance Patricia Wentworth

The Alington Inheritance by Patricia Wentworth published 1958[excerpt] When she came into the drawing-room Mac was there. He was reading the paper, but he looked up, smiled his charming smile, and said, ‘Well, what have you been doing with yourself, Jenny my love?’The colour whipped into Jenny’s face. She came up the long room to the hearth and stood there. She had put on a black lace dress which she had made for Christmas last year. It was too old for her, but when you have only one evening dress it is better to have a black one, and if it is lace you can do all sorts of things with it, so that it will go on for a long time. You have to think of those things when you are young and poor. Jenny didn’t know it, but the black dress did something to her. It made her look older, and it was very, very becoming. ‘This is the only evening dress I’ve got.’ ‘And very nice too. A little old for you perhaps, but you’re young enough to take that as a compliment. It’s quite a sincere one.’…