Had Nevill ever telephoned any of his children ever in his life? He was a self-made man, remote from his children who sent Sheila off mid-term to Moira House and thought the cadet force at Gresham's might toughen up his son. Yet unbeknownst to himself he had become psychologically pained by the death of his sister Diana and imprisoned in a time warp existence as he flicked through past theatre programmes, which reminded him of a happier bygone era. True he was aware of external appearances which kept his wife's illness secret and Sheila and Jeremy cloistered from the outside world for so long, but he was the boss, the paterfamilias who prided himself on his autonomy and self-reliance. He would have dealt with Sheila that night face to face, gun or no gun.
