“Yes, one about three months after the initial bout. That lasted for about three weeks, but again it didn’t seem to leave any permanent damage, so he just kept going on as normal. Then there was this brilliantly long period of remission when we almost forgot that he had the wretched disease.”

“And that came to an end?”

Katie nodded. “About five months ago, and this time, I’m afraid, he was left with acute weakness in both legs.”

“Is there any chance that that’ll improve?”

“The specialist didn’t say anything to Patrick, but he told me that I should expect that to be the norm from now on.”

“Is he still working?”

“Oh, yes. There’s nothing wrong with his brain. It’s just his body that doesn’t work too well. He has had to delegate a lot more work now, but I still take him into the office about three times a week, depending on how he’s feeling. But at other times”—she pointed over to the table in the window—“that’s where he works.”

“Is there no treatment he can get?”

Katie smiled. “Yes, but it’s all fairly unorthodox. He is in constant contact with this strange little lady who lives up near Spean Bridge. She’s a faith healer. The funny thing is that Patrick was such a sceptic before all this happened, but now he dotes on her every word.” Her smile faded. “Also, one of the boys from the factory drives him up to Inverness every fortnight where he goes into a hyperbaric chamber for about an hour.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s like a diving bell. I’m not entirely sure how it all works, but I know that it’s pressurized to a certain depth and then pure oxygen is pumped into it, and Patrick sits there like a goldfish, getting extremely bored.” She pushed herself away from the towel rail. “In fact, that’s where he’s been this morning. He feels absolutely knackered when it’s all over, so, more often than not, he goes to bed when he gets home. That’s why I went upstairs when we arrived. He gave me strict instructions to wake him at two o’clock.”

Dan blew out a long breath. “What a hell of a pressure you must have on you at the moment.”

“Well, life is certainly not as easy as it was. I’ve had to juggle my time as best I can, keeping Vagabonds going and trying to look after Patrick and getting the children to and from school. But it really wasn’t working, and that’s why I decided to sell my business. And then, of course, Patrick is a completely different person.”

“In what way?”

“Oh, he can be morose, insufferably bad-tempered, and he gets extremely frustrated at his inability to carry out even the simplest tasks. I’m sure you can understand that.”