At half past two on a dark September afternoon Anna Ball came down the steps of No. 5 Lenister Street with a suit-case in her hand. Mrs. Dugdale&rsquo;s middle-aged parlourmaid stood at the open door just long enough to see that she turned to the left, a direction which would take her down to the roaring traffic at the end of the road. Lenister Street was still quiet, but it had been quieter. The tide of noise was coming in. If it rose too high, Mrs. Dugdale would be obliged to move.<br />Agnes went down into the basement kitchen and told Mrs. Harrison, the cook, that Miss Ball had gone, and a good riddance. Mrs. Harrison looked round from the kettle which she was taking off the fire.<br />&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t hear any taxi.&rdquo;<br />&ldquo;She didn&rsquo;t have one&mdash;just went off down the road with her suit-case.&rdquo;<br />Mrs. Harrison began to pour boiling water into a squat brown teapot.