However, he appeared at the dinner-table with his hand supported in a sling, which he seemed to regard as an indignity, while the natural inquiries upon the subject evidently struck him as deliberate insults.

Mrs.Sheridan, having been unable to contain her solicitude several times during the day, and having been checked each time in a manner that blanched her cheek, hastened to warn Roscoe and Sibyl, upon their arrival at five, to omit any reference to the injury and to avoid even looking at the sling if they possibly could.
The Sheridans dined on Sundays at five.

Sibyl had taken pains not to arrive either before or after the hand was precisely on the hour; and the members of the family were all seated at the table within two minutes after she and Roscoe had entered the house.
It was a glum gathering, overhung with portents.

The air seemed charged, awaiting any tiny ignition to explode; and Mrs.Sheridan's expression, as she sat with her eyes fixed almost continually upon her husband, was that of a person engaged in prayer.

Edith was pale and intent.
Roscoe looked ill; Sibyl looked ill; and Sheridan looked both ill and explosive.