"and now a word as to my household, mr. holmes, for i wish you to thoroughly understand the situation. my groom and my page sleep out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. i have three maid-servants who have been with me a number of years and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. another, lucy parr, the second waiting-maid, has only been in my service a few months. she came with an excellent character, however, and has always given me satisfaction. she is a very pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. that is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way.