The party was Dorothy's idea. She had been suggesting it for weeks—"a bit of Christmas cheer, for heaven's sake, this house is as gloomy as a morgue"—and eventually Ed had agreed, if only to stop the suggestions, if only to give Dorothy the satisfaction of having won. She had invited Clive, who had accepted with the sardonic grace he brought to everything; and Joan, who had accepted with the quiet precision she brought to social obligations; and James, who had come up from Manchester for the Ch...