He had intended to lengthen his walk beyond the circle but decided that this should be the limit of his exercise and, sitting on the lowest stone, gazed along the avenue to the west wing of the Manor, now in darkness. He sat absolutely still, listening intently to the noises of the night, the small scuffling in the high grasses on the fringe of the stones, a distant scream as some predator found its prey, the susurration of the drying leaves as a breeze suddenly gusted. The anxieties, petty irritations and rigours of the long day fell away. Here in no alien place he sat, so motionless that even his breathing seemed no more than an unheard, softly rhythmic affirmation of life.

Time passed. Glancing at his watch he saw that he had been sitting there for three-quarters of an hour. He became aware that he was getting chilled, that the hardness of the stone was becoming uncomfortable. Easing his cramped legs, he scaled the wall and entered the lime walk. Suddenly a light appeared in the middle window of the patients’ floor, the window was opened and a woman’s head appeared. She stood motionless, looking out into the night. Instinctively he stopped walking and stared at her, both so motionless that for a moment he could believe that she could see him and that some communication was passing between them. He remembered who she was, Rhoda Gradwyn, and that she was at the Manor for her preliminary stay. Despite his meticulous note-taking and examination of patients before operating, few of them remained in mind. He could have described accurately the scar on her face but remembered little else about her except for one sentence. She had come to get rid of the disfigurement because she no longer had need of it. He had asked for no explanation and she had offered none. And in just over two weeks she would be rid of it, and how she would cope with its absence would not be his concern.

He turned to walk back to the house, and as he did, a hand half-closed the window, the curtains were partly drawn; a few minutes later the light in the room went out and the west wing was in darkness.

7