He was dressed in a suit that was no doubt once well made, but appeared to have served decades of wear. The buttons on his waistcoat strained to hold back a protuberant belly before what was otherwise a skinny frame, and Raven was uncomfortably reminded of Mrs Glassford for a moment.

‘I am Dr Fowler,’ he said. ‘I was having difficulties with a patient and I hoped I might trouble Dr Simpson for his judgment. I gather he is from home.’

‘As must I be very soon,’ Raven tried to explain. ‘I was just about to leave. Our morning clinic has over-run and I am bound for Milton House.’

‘Then our purposes coincide. My patient is in Broughton Street. It will not be such a great detour for you.’

Raven suppressed a sigh, thinking of how Dr Simpson would respond were he here.

‘Very well,’ he said. ‘I will be with you presently.’

Raven hoped Dr Fowler’s command of matters medical proved better than his grasp of geography, Broughton Street being in utterly the opposite direction from Milton House. He calculated that this necessary detour would come at the cost of having any lunch at all if he was to be in time for his work with Dr Ziegler. He therefore made his own minor diversion to the kitchen to grab a bread roll for the road. Mrs Lyndsay’s admonition was ringing in his ears as he left, prompting him to think that no good deed ever went unpunished.

It was a sentiment that returned to his mind a short time later as he stood at the end of the bed, contemplating Dr Fowler’s patient. They were in a room denuded of all furniture save the bed and a solitary chair.

‘The nurse who has been helping the family has a very strict policy about the management of the sick room,’ the doctor explained.

Dr Fowler had said little on the walk along Queen Street, save for occasionally muttering about a ‘terrible loss’, which made Raven wonder how dire the situation was that awaited him. Raven had suggested hailing a hansom cab as his time was limited, but Dr Fowler objected to this extravagance. It was not a great distance, he said, and was therefore a journey best made on foot. The worn condition of Dr Fowler’s footwear suggested to Raven that this was his primary mode of conveyance and reminded him that not all medical practitioners enjoyed the patronage of wealthy clients.

As it turned out, it was not an obstetric case that Dr Fowler was having trouble with, but this was not a surprise. Although Dr Simpson was a physician with a special interest in midwifery and the medical disorders of women and children, he was known to be a skilled diagnostician and his opinion was frequently sought by those dealing with cases outside this purview.