It was, in his opinion, the most astonishing letter he had ever read. ‘Damn you, what’s the matter with you?’ he snapped in frustration. It seemed older than Rome, and the stone covering it gave resistance. ’ Gerald stood back, and watched her cross the room to the closed French doors. Immediately beneath her lay Willesden,—the most charming and secluded village in the neighbourhood of the metropolis—with its scattered farm-houses, its noble granges, and its old grey church-tower just peeping above a grove of rook-haunted trees. ’ ‘Yes, but I need a word with Gerald,’ protested the captain, hanging back. The road which wound by Westbourne Green, gave him a full view of the hill of Hampstead with its church, its crest of houses, and its villas peeping from out the trees. "Quite captivated, Ma'am," added Mr.