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Chapters (60)
  1. CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LEIGH RUSSELL
  2. Glossary of acronyms
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. Acknowledgements

The house looked a long way off, and for an alarming instant he was confused about where he was and where he needed to go. At the same time, the ground seemed to rock gently with each dizzying step, as though he was on a boat at sea. Beside the front door, one of the downstairs windows was shimmering brightly in the darkness. Stumbling, he made a conscious effort to place one foot in front of the other, but he didn’t seem to be making any progress in his long walk to the house. Everything around him seemed to be spinning and he couldn’t control his limbs. With a jolt of fear, he understood that this was more than a panic attack. He was ill. He had been working too hard. As soon as he got inside, he was going straight to bed, and he would take a couple of days off to rest until he recovered. Not only that, he was going to insist Anne summoned the doctor. He was no good to anyone like this. The front door hovered ahead of him, tantalisingly out of reach.

He wasn’t sure what happened, but one minute he was staggering towards the house, fumbling in his pocket for his key, and the next he was staring at a patch of moss on the path. His nose stung where he had hit it on a paving stone, and one of his hands smarted from breaking his fall, jarring his elbow painfully. Pain stabbed his shoulder as he turned his head slightly and saw the moon quivering crazily above him. He was vaguely aware of an irregular whine which seemed to be coming from his chest. Every time he inhaled, a sharp pain in his throat and chest worsened. He suspected he was having a heart attack. Understanding that he had tripped and fallen, he was afraid to move in case he had seriously injured his head which was pounding horribly. He felt sick. He tried to shout, but heard only a faint whimper. Perhaps he had suffered a stroke. Terror threatened to overwhelm him as it occurred to him that, if he didn’t get medical assistance soon, he might die.

‘Help,’ he murmured, ‘I’m not well. I’ve fallen over. I can’t move. Someone, help! Anne! Someone! Help me, please! Help!’