"If you could find a friend to share with, I suppose that would make it a little better," he said reluctantly. Did his sister have friends? He wondered about that suddenly. But the question would probably not be appreciated.

"Will... you be staying here tonight?" He already knew the answer. It was a long way back to Newcastle. Perhaps she could still make it if she took the next train, but she wouldn't come all this way just to say hello. Still, he'd like an indication of how long she was going to stay. He would have liked that indication some days ago.