‘I require a bottle of chloroform.’

‘Then you must fill in the ledger to say you have removed it.’

‘What?’ Raven asked, though he had by now noticed the book that was sitting atop the sideboard.

‘It is important that we keep track of the consumption of supplies, particularly those which might be expensive. Have you any idea how much money is spent on medicines in this household?’

Raven had to rein in his incredulity.

‘That’s because we treat patients, Mr Quinton. We are doctors. I appreciate that such extravagances might be inconvenient when totting up the numbers, but treating disease is not something that ought to be subordinate to the exactitudes of petty accountants.’

Quinton ignored this outburst.

‘Without a record being kept there is no way of knowing whether those purchases are being dispensed appropriately, or whether they might have been misused or even resold.’

Raven stood up, the bottle of chloroform gripped in his hand.

‘Are you accusing me of selling on medicines at a profit? Would that I had the time.’

‘It is for the protection of your own reputation then that every purchase henceforth should be logged, and each item that is removed for consumption be logged too, with the reason noted, that I might ensure the figures correspond. Who is this chloroform for?’

‘A patient. One who is in great need of it.’

‘I wish to have a name.’

Raven felt exasperated that this self-important cypher should be proving an impediment to taking care of a sick man.

‘I am taking it to Dr Banks, Sarah’s husband. Are you content that I should dispense it to treat him, or would his suffering make for neater figures on the page?’

Quinton narrowed his eyes. ‘Ah, yes. I have observed that you and Mrs Banks have quite the rapport. Is Dr Banks aware of how much time you have been spending with his wife?’

‘We work together. And what damn business is it of yours?’

‘You might have heard that I have discovered serious financial discrepancies. I am making it my business to be vigilant. I am on the lookout for impropriety and immoral conduct. Compromising behaviour is often at the root of financial dishonesty.’

‘I would recommend you visit the kitchen,’ Raven told him.

‘Does Mrs Lyndsay have specific information, or are you making an accusation?’

‘She usually has a large stock-pot on the stove around this time of the day. The ideal size and temperature for you to go and boil your head.’

FORTY-NINE