There were few occasions more delightful to Eleanor than a visit from her brothers: Frederick because he did not come often enough for disgust, and Henry from genuine delight in his company. During December she was spoiled with a surfeit of both, and more guests besides, an unparalleled gift.

In comparison, the weeks since Epiphany were very gloomy indeed. Eleanor tried to stay reasonable while working at a screen, but melancholy knocked repeatedly at her heart, and if she were honest, not merely from loneliness. Her father's irritability over the season's confinement was palpable even from the opposite end of the abbey.

But Henry would return as promised. It was too much to hope for anyone else; no friend of theirs would visit again so soon (or in her darkest fears, ever).

Still, Henry's presence was always welcome, working his merry magic to make it feel like home once more.

Title from Chapter 20 of Northanger Abbey: "His sister, he said, was uncomfortably circumstanced—she had no female companion—and, in the frequent absence of her father, was sometimes without any companion at all."