"Us, and our charge"

After their father's sudden death, a group of siblings and a younger child struggle to keep the household and manage money with the help of a practical lawyer. They discover a previously unknown maternal grandfather who offers them a home, forcing decisions about guardianship, servants, and a new governess. Everyday domestic debates and duties are soon overtaken by the outbreak of war: one son enlists, relatives work in a hospital, and the family endures searches, rescues, and painful separations. The narrative traces their adjustments, loyalties, and efforts to hold the household together amid loss and upheaval.