The week had been a series of ups and downs for Will and Kate. In the main she had been a bit calmer. Barry and his workers had started work on the patio, and as it turned out, he had proved to be the exception to the rule. Will was obliged to admit that he and his workers had done an excellent job for a very reasonable price. So much so that, as Barry’s next job had been held up yet again, they had begun clearing an overgrown area to the back of the well, with a view to constructing a series of small terraces and a pond. It was actually quite reassuring to see them working outside. Having them there made the place feel kind of normal, and they were certainly working far faster than him. Even better, it clearly pleased Kate.

Even so, despite the good days, Kate oscillated between being the loving woman he had married and a preoccupied, impatient and bad-tempered stranger. Her mood swings left him tired, unhappy and unable to sleep.

Kate’s sleep patterns had altered too. More often than not she would rise in the dead of night and spend hours in her studio, and she never volunteered to show her husband the fruits of her labours.

Once, after constant requests from him, she produced a finished image. It was powerful and cleverly painted, but it lacked the fine detail that normally characterised her work. It was shadowy and somehow frightening. It showed some kind of underground dweller, a troll-like being crouched at the entrance to his cavern and looking out suspiciously. He was depicted slightly turned to one side so that you saw his deformed back. Outside the cave, like a window looking into the light, was a mountain meadow. That was sunlit and colourful but it only occupied a small portion of the painting. It seemed to Will as if this glimpse of a meadow was the only part of the picture that Kate had painted, the rest being the work of someone else. That other artist was undoubtedly brilliant, but sinister.

She refused to show him anything else, which made him wonder anxiously what the other paintings might be like. Will longed to talk to Matt and Liz about Kate, but he felt that this would be a betrayal. He was sure she was deeply depressed. He recalled the breakdown she had suffered following the loss of their child. It was some time ago now, but still she found it impossible to talk about the baby.