‘And those same people might prefer not to go to their regular GP with their anxieties, because they’d have to sit in the waiting room, probably surrounded by acquaintances, with all the locals speculating about what’s wrong with them.’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you one of those people, Mrs Nicholls?’

‘I think I probably am.’ Her voice wobbled appropriately. ‘I live just along the coast in Fethering, which is a terribly gossipy place. I don’t want everyone in the village knowing what’s wrong with me … that is, if there is anything wrong with me.’

‘Hm.’ Again he gave her a very direct look. ‘And you do still think there’s something wrong with you, Mrs Nicholls, don’t you?’

Jude managed to manufacture a sob, before saying, ‘Yes, I’m afraid I do.’

He grimaced wryly. ‘If I told you it was all in your head …’

‘I still wouldn’t believe you,’ said Jude. Which was true. But not in the way Dr Rawley would have understood it.

‘All right. Well, the first thing that’s important to say is that, if you do have cancer – and I’m certainly not saying you do – the illness is far from the death sentence it used to be. Remarkable advances in treatment are being made on an almost daily basis, particularly with breast cancer. And, increasingly, the role of alternative medicine – or what I prefer to think of as complementary medicine – in curing the disease is being recognized. A lot of therapists who would once have been dismissed as charlatans are beginning to be taken seriously. As in many areas of contemporary life, a holistic approach is proving beneficial.

‘So, Mrs Nicholls, if I were to find you had cancer, and if you were prepared to let me treat that cancer, then you would have to agree to a course of treatment which involved both conventional and alternative therapies. So, I have to ask you – do you believe in the efficacy of alternative medicine?’

‘Yes, very strongly,’ said Jude. Which again was true. But again, not in the way Dr Rawley would have interpreted the answer. But then she embellished her statement with some half-truths. ‘I have lots of friends who’ve benefited from alternative therapies. And one who was completely cured of breast cancer by healing.’

‘Good. I’m glad to hear that. Every successful outcome is a small triumph over the sceptics. Well, first I think I must set your mind at rest. I don’t want you leaving the Magic of Therapy Centre this morning still convinced that you’re suffering from undiagnosed breast cancer. So, would you mind taking your top off for me again and we’ll have one final check …?’

Jude did as requested, removing her clothes with trembling fingers. Again, his palpation of the right breast was expert. ‘I really can’t feel anything,’ he concluded. ‘I think you have to accept you have a clean bill of health there.’