The uninvited guests

She was obeying a prompt, an instinct: the instinct that makes a dog lying by the fire tremble of a sudden, and whimper, when there is no one near to see. The cake is iced. The wine decanted. The house gleams invitingly. But as Sterne prepares for Emerald Torrington's birthday supper, who are the pale strangers struggling silently up the drive?