Sentence:  Inside , as soon as Mr. Skopas had disclosed - in a hoarse whisper - the detective 's errand , his family gathered in a huddle , forming a mass of dark flesh on and around a brocaded sofa which stood at one side of a baroque <WSD>fireplace</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built