‘The blue dress with the yellow flowers?’

Her smile broadened. ‘That was her favourite, yes. She seemed to be calmer at such times, when she was dressed up, or acting as someone else. Her psyche was very fragile, and playing a role helped her to survive from day to day, at least a little.’

‘The effect didn’t last long?’

‘She was … Adeline had to be constantly reminded of her own life, of her value in the world. Looking in the mirror, and seeing herself as Miss Kreeley, or some other character, Ophelia, say, or Lady Macbeth, at such a moment she was fully alive.’ Camilla took a deep breath. ‘Anyway, that was when I started to make the blue and yellow dress for her. She needed more and more copies of it, as they got worn out or damaged.’

Fairfax thought for a moment. ‘What about her mum and dad, Nicholas and Rosamund? Didn’t they come to visit, to see their daughter?’

‘They did come round, yes, on occasion. Family get-togethers. It was all very strained, ill-tempered, and Adeline never put in an appearance. She stayed in her room, the door locked. She was the great unspoken subject, haunting the party.’

The story faltered. Camilla’s eyes had taken on a faraway gaze.

Fairfax asked if she’d like to take a break.

But she refused this. ‘No. I want it to be said. It needs to be said.’

‘Good. We all want that.’

Camilla made an effort. She was gathering her strength for some purpose.

‘When Adeline was eighteen, she tried to cut herself.’

Fairfax kept his voice steady. ‘On her arms?’

‘No. Here.’

Camilla pointed to her stomach area, on the right-hand side. Her fingers lingered there.

‘Why would she do that?’

‘I didn’t know, not then. Only later, when her condition became obvious.’

‘Her condition?’

‘It was a shallow cut, marking the territory, a guideline. It scared me. And when she let me into her room a week or so later, well, that was another shock. She had given up completely on cleanliness. Her hair was long, and filthy, like rats’ tails all knotted together. Her teeth were brown, and her breath … Well, it wasn’t pleasant.’ Camilla shuddered a little. ‘And so many of her possessions were torn apart, or ripped in two: books, clothes, jewellery, broken in pieces. Only the dressing-table mirror was left intact. That one shining window, ever closed to her. And she turned away from the glass and said, “I have no face, no body. No touch. I am drifting away. Almost gone now, almost gone.”’

Fairfax sounded unsure. ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying. What was wrong with her?’

Camilla looked away from him, over to the mirror on the wall.

Hobbes stood behind it, out of sight.

She was looking at him, knowing he was there.

She spoke plainly, emotion at bay: ‘Adeline was suffering from a condition by which the mind believes the body, the flesh, is dead, or dying, and decaying.’