He sipped some wine and spoke to her. “Research has been done on this—is being done. Cellular memory, they call it. Some doctors firmly place it in the realms of myth. Some are outraged that anyone even considers the possibility. Others propose that cells have a mind of their own, in a way, and that moving living tissue from one body to another doesn’t terminate the memory from that ‘mind.’ It’s possible that the chains of amino acids which send messages between the brain and other parts of the body are also generated in the heart. I’ve never taken a position on this subject before. I know there are some famous test cases, particularly in America; some really extraordinary stories where it would be unfair not to keep an open mind. But nothing unequivocal has been proved. If the brain isn’t our only center of knowing, and the heart does—as some suggest—have its own intrinsic nervous system, then perhaps it may be possible.” He looked up at her and saw she was listening intently to him, trying to understand for herself. “Courtney would dismiss it outright, but I’ll talk to Amel. He’ll have an opinion—one worth hearing.” He held the wine in the firelight for a moment. “But it’s strange, because not everyone experiences this. If they did, it would offer more consistency.”

Lucy looked at him sadly, her fears not yet silenced. “Alex, whether you can digest the impressions I’ve told you about or not, what of the issue itself? Of me actually having Will’s heart. Can you still think of it as just a pump? Is it a problem for you?”

Alex had been leaning back on his hands on the floor by the fire. He quickly rocked forward to touch her, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. “Lucy, Will had gone. I checked all the data myself—I was there at the very end. Which you’ll now understand was why I couldn’t be with you.”

She placed her firm hand on his back.

“Whatever Will was taking with him, it wasn’t a living heart. If my brother’s death was in any way a means to your life, then I’ll thank him every day I breathe.” He cupped her face in his hands and poured assurances into her eyes. “Is it a problem for you?”