‘Is Mr Samuel Annesley on board?’
‘Is Mr Samuel Annesley on board?’
Captain Bewes rubbed his chin. He had grown suddenly grave. ‘I beg your pardon,’ said he, ‘but are you a kinswoman of Mr Annesley’s?’
‘I am his sister, sir.’
‘Then I’ll have to ask you to step on board, ma’am.’
‘Is — is he ill?’ Mrs Wesley stammered. . . ‘We heard he had taken passage with you.’
‘Why, so he did; and, to the best of my knowledge he sailed. It’s a serious matter, ma’am, and we’re all at our wits’ ends over it; but the fact is — Mr Annesley has disappeared.’
(Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Hetty Wesley, 1903).