“I had never acted on my desires in any way before Lorna—it was a different world when I was young. It wouldn’t have been possible to have fulfilled my dreams and still have done the things I wanted to in my career. It would have set me too far apart, and I’d never have got a teaching job. I was never attracted to the idea of living a secret life, I never had that kind of nerve.

“When Lorna came along, I was thirty-five. Suddenly I felt that my life was slipping past me without meaning. I needed love. Lorna was half my age, but she worshiped me for what I could give her.

“And I worshiped her talent. I knew I could never play like that, but to have Lorna to listen to was the next best thing. We were each obsessed by what the other could give.” Margaret paused. “It only lasted a matter of a few months. Then Lorna left to go to the Royal College. And that was the end. The week after she left here, she wrote saying that she didn’t want to see me again. She took everything she could, then simply discarded me. As you can imagine, it has haunted me ever since. I’ve never dared to get close to a pupil again, for fear I would fall into the same trap. I got what I deserved. I betrayed the trust of my position and she betrayed my love.”

Cordelia rose and held her hands up to the fire. It was warm in the room, but she felt cold as ice. Neither she nor Lindsay felt capable of further questioning. But Margaret Macdonald continued unasked.

“I didn’t see her in all those years, apart from going to the occasional concert where she was playing. I never spoke to her. We did exchange Christmas cards and I bought all her records, but that was all. When Pamela Overton told me she had persuaded her to come here, I didn’t know what to do or how to act. On Friday, I had no chance to be alone with her. But on Saturday, I saw her going for a walk and followed. God help me, I could still see in her the girl I had loved. I caught up with her when we were out of sight of the house. I didn’t really know what I was going to say, but I didn’t get much chance to speak.” She let her head drop into her hands but kept talking in a low monotone.