At the same time as Paddy was awakened by the bang on her cell door that heralded Saturday morning, Cordelia was wakened by the buzz of her alarm clock. She rolled over and switched it off in one movement, then turned over to where Lindsay should have been. At once she shot upright, taken aback by the sight of a rumpled, empty space. She had known Lindsay for long enough by now to realize just how slim were the chances of her rising early for the hell of it. It took her a moment to become aware that she was clutching a piece of paper in the hand that had switched off the alarm.

Cordelia read the note and instantly leapt out of bed. She dressed quickly, raced downstairs and out into the freezing morning air. She found the car keys where Lindsay had left them and climbed into the driving seat. She turned the keys in the ignition and nothing happened. Cursing, she tried again. Nothing. Then she remembered Lindsay telling her about the engine immobilizer she had installed. “Bloody stupid gadgets,” she swore, fumbling under the dashboard for the switch. She tried the ignition again, and the engine started at once. It took her only six minutes to reach Longnor House. She burst into Paddy’s living-room and began to panic when she saw no sign of Lindsay. Then she remembered the bedroom.

Lindsay’s clothes were strewn on the floor by the bed, where she was sleeping deeply. Cordelia stopped to let her heartbeat return to normal. In sleep, Lindsay lost half her years. Her face was gently flushed, her hair tousled, her features completely relaxed. Then her instincts told her she was no longer alone, and she began to wake up.

“Morning,” Lindsay muttered sleepily. “What time is it?”

“Twenty past seven.”

“Oh God, is that all? I thought you’d at least have your run before you arrived. I didn’t imagine anything could come between you and your early morning exercise.”

“You leave me a note like that and expect me calmly to go for a run and have breakfast too, I suppose, before I do anything about it?” demanded Cordelia incredulously.

Lindsay propped herself up on one elbow and nodded. “Why not?” she asked. “I didn’t say anything about it being urgent.”

“But what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I didn’t think Paddy would mind. I simply didn’t feel like walking back at three o’clock in the morning. Exhaustion came over me in a wave, so I thought I’d kip down here. Very comfortable I was, too,” she smiled.

“God, you’re exasperating,” said Cordelia. “I meant, what possessed you to get up in the middle of the night and walk up here? I presume you did walk?”