She stared in astonishment. ‘You go to St Mary’s to get your hair cut? I didn’t know you could do that.’

‘Well, I don’t tell people. They call me Mummy’s Boy as it is.’

‘Are we allowed? Are you allowed?’

‘You heard the major. He told me to get my hair cut.’

‘I think he envisaged you popping down the corridor to the barber, not jumping back through time and space.’

‘He knows where I get my hair cut.’

‘Will they give us a pod?’

He shrugged. ‘Let’s find out. If they won’t, you can threaten to give me another haircut. Bet you they let us go then.’

North tapped on Ellis’s door. ‘Sir, I have a request from Farrell and Lockland for an afternoon’s home leave.’ She regarded her scratchpad disdainfully. ‘And to get his hair cut.’

‘You disapprove?’

‘I have mixed feelings, sir. I don’t want to stand in the way of him beginning to look like a proper officer, but to run home just to get your hair cut . . .’ She held Ellis’s eye. ‘On the other hand, I do think it might be a good idea to get the pair of them out of the building for a while after that incident. Let things cool down a little.’

Ellis signed the authorisation and they were allowed. The senior mech pointed to a small pod in the corner, spoke into his com and thirty seconds later a yawning and grumpy mech dropped them off with instructions to be on this spot in four hours’ time and not to keep him waiting.

It was Jane’s first glimpse of St Mary’s and she wasn’t sure quite what to make of it. At first glance, it was beautiful. To her left, a long drive led up to a golden-stoned building smothered in some sort of creeper just beginning to glow red in the autumn sunshine. A mass of chimneys rose from the flat roof and a set of shallow steps led to a pair of nail-studded front doors. Off to her right, a small lake glittered and swans glided serenely on the smooth surface. She turned to Matthew. ‘They’re blue. All the swans are blue.’

‘No, they’re not. That one over there is pink.’

‘But . . .’

He nodded in the direction of the front door. ‘This way. I’d better sign you in.’

She looked around again. They were in the depths of the countryside and all she could hear was birdsong and a dog barking in the distance. ‘This is St Mary’s? It’s so old. Where are the pods?’

‘Out of sight in a hangar round the back. Come on.’