“Was that where Amelia fell?” she asked.

“No.” Arthur gave her a faint smile. “Amelia’s accident happened on the back stairs.”

Lizzie was relieved to find that that the kitchen was brand new, light and much more normal. Anna and an older man whom she assumed must be Sam Appleyard were sitting at the stripped pine table which was littered with newspapers and empty mugs. The air smelled warmly of baked bread and coffee. Sam got to his feet and came around the table to shake Lizzie formally by the hand.

“Hi, I’m Sam. We’re grateful to you for coming over.” He had short, salt-and-pepper hair and a deeply tanned and lined face. His accent was US west coast and his grip firm. He gave Lizzie an impression of durability that she thought was probably an essential quality for someone who disappeared off into the wilds for months at a time. His manner was gruff but she liked him.

Lizzie nodded to Anna, who gave a dip of the head in acknowledgement. She looked younger now and more vulnerable than she had when she had marched into Lizzie’s flat, bristling with suspicion and aggression, but not much friendlier.

“Take a seat.” Sam waved Lizzie to an empty chair next to Anna, who rather ostentatiously moved further away. “Would you care for a cup of coffee?”

“Thanks,” Lizzie said.

Sam placed a mug of coffee in front of her and Arthur pushed the biscuit tin across the table towards her. She cupped her hands about the mug and inhaled the scent.

“Hey, Lizzie.” The door opened and Johnny ambled in. He looked just the same; lanky, cadaverous, his blue eyes tired. He seemed to vibrate with the same repressed energy Lizzie had sensed in him from the night he’d come to the flat. He kissed her cheek. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “I don’t deserve it but I really appreciate it.”

“You owe her an apology,” Anna said grudgingly. “We all thought she’d pushed you in the river or something.”

“Yeah...” Johnny’s gaze slid away from Lizzie’s and he blushed. “I’m really, really sorry about that.” He held the door open. “Can we talk?” He looked pointedly at the others. “In private?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Arthur said. “Lizzie might not want that after you abandoned her on the Embankment.”

Johnny’s blush deepened. “I’ve said I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Lizzie almost pitied him. She would have done if she hadn’t been expecting this, hadn’t suspected that Johnny would try to get her on her own again so that he could exploit her ability to read the memory of stone like he had at Baynard’s Castle.

“It’s OK,” she said. “It’ll be fine.” Her nerves were strung so tightly that she could feel herself shaking. She grabbed her coffee and a couple of biscuits and followed Johnny out.

“This house is a warren,” she said as they recrossed the hall. “I couldn’t live somewhere like this. I’d rattle around like a marble.” She tried to sound as normal as she could. She didn’t want to confront Johnny until she was absolutely sure of what he had planned.