‘Yes, of course.’ Hilaria’s voice was calm, but Josephine noticed how much she had aged in the time it had taken her to cross from one terrace to the other. ‘What shall I tell her?’ she asked. ‘Is there any chance that he’s not …’ She tailed off, unable to bring herself to say the word.

‘Tell her that her husband has been hurt and say that we fear the worst. There’s no point in giving her false hope. She’s vulnerable enough, and we don’t want to confuse her more than she is already by keeping anything from her.’ Once again, as she always was whenever she saw Archie at work, Josephine was struck by his sensitivity, even in the most stressful of situations, and she saw that Marlene had noticed it, too; the actress was looking at her escort with something rather more than respect. ‘I need someone trustworthy to go down to the Change House and see what the situation is with the tides and the telephone,’ he said, oblivious to 165the appreciation. ‘We’re going to need help of some sort from the mainland, and the sooner the better. Who do you recommend?’

‘Tom Pendean,’ Hilaria said without hesitation. ‘He’s the best boatman we have and he’ll know what’s possible, but I’m not sure he’ll want to leave his wife when she’s had such a shock.’

‘I will take care of her,’ Marlene said. Hilaria looked doubtful, but it was a decision rather than an offer, and the actress was already on her way over to the housekeeper.

Without wasting any more time, Archie followed her and gave his instructions. ‘I also need to be sure that no one leaves the island,’ he told Pendean. ‘Should the causeway and the harbour become accessible again, nobody is to use them without my permission, in or out. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Are there any other access points to the Mount that I don’t know about?’

‘You can bring a boat in and out via Cromwell’s Passage, over on the west side, but it wouldn’t be safe in this weather.’

‘You’re sure?’

Pendean nodded and Archie sent him on his way, then walked briskly back across the terrace, stopping abruptly when he noticed Fielding at the edge of the group. ‘Put that bloody camera down,’ he shouted, briefly losing his composure. ‘If I find out that you’ve taken so much as a single photograph in the last few minutes, I’ll have you out of your job before you even get back to the mainland. Is that understood?’

Fielding nodded and did as he was asked, as Archie headed for the church. ‘We keep a flashlight just inside the door to 166the tower,’ Hilaria called after him. ‘You’ll need it up there. It’s not an easy climb.’

‘Thank you.’

They followed him back inside, and Josephine watched him make his way over to an arched door halfway down the nave, wondering what cruelty and sadness awaited him at the top of the tower. Hilaria went through to the organ loft, and a few seconds later the music stopped. It was hard to imagine the sorrow behind the scenes, but the sudden silence seemed an appropriate mark of respect for the moment when Angela Hartley was receiving the worst possible news about the person she loved. Josephine hoped that for once her mind’s fragility might serve her kindly, protecting her from the enormity of the grief that lay ahead.