The door buzzed like an angry wasp. She jumped. Calvin. But should she see him? She’d rather be cloistered with Will’s ghost. Doubts about Calvin’s loyalties now made her nervous. Had she talked too much? Did she mean anything to him—or was she a means to an end? Maybe she’d been indiscreet about Will’s life and his family. The buzzer came again, more insistently. She looked down from the patch of sky in the window to Redcliffe Square below, and leaned out a shade. It was incongruously sunny and tranquil. A dark green Audi with the roof down was double-parked below. She quickly crossed the floor and pressed the door release, then opened hers and waited.

When he appeared at the top of the long stairway, one hot tear came, followed by a second. Alex gathered her in a hug and closed the door.

“The only person…” She mumbled indistinct words against his black linen suit, unwilling to look him in the face.

He tilted her chin. “I knew you were in trouble. I had to drop Max off, so I thought I’d check.” He placed a thumb on each blotched cheekbone, looked in her eyes, and frowned. “What did you have for dinner last night—a bottle of Sancerre?” And what else besides, he wanted to ask.

Her mouth twitched. Alex had lived through her crises two or three times.

“Siân, listen. Max is fine—completely well this morning. He arrived at school with a magnificent battle wound to show off. I believe it was intended as a warning, not a serious strike. You’re not to blame for this. It’s not in your nature to suspect guile in anyone. I do need to reach Calvin, though. I hope he can shed some light. Still no word?”

“Nothing. I’ve tried the halls of residence. He’s not answering his cell phone, and no one answers the main house phone either. Have they broken for Easter already?” She looked up to see Alex shake his head. “I’m almost worried about him.”

“Well, perhaps we should be.” He’d considered this. If they thought Calvin was having second thoughts about their crusade, or about serving their ideologies, he might be in an uncomfortable position—depending on how much he knew about their intentions. But it was equally possible he was a consummate go-between, having talked Alex into parting with the valuable Dee papers under the guise of concern for Lucy, yet effectively delivering the haul they wanted in the simplest manner. Alex couldn’t quite make up his mind about Calvin’s sympathies. The second thoughts Simon suggested he might be having about his cohorts and their theories could be opportunist. He might still be a card-carrying member of the Rapturist party. None of this, however, did he impart to Siân. “You last spoke to him on Saturday; and not a word since?”