Milne shook his head. ‘No, no; the serpent merely intrigues me as a physician, which means also that I am drawn to their part in natural history. I can’t fathom, say, why the venom of the cobra is so much greater than that of the viper, since its purpose – the killing of prey, we must suppose – is no different.’

Hervey would concede that the philosophical aspect of it was stimulating, and nodded as much. ‘Well, I’m glad this place affords you opportunity for study, since there’s evidently so little work in the infirmary to occupy you fully.’

Milne was not always quick to diagnose irony, however. ‘The business of prevention is as compelling as that of cure, Colonel. There’s a most active chirurgical society here, corresponding with Calcutta, and no shortage of subjects for inquiry. Nor, I may add, corpses for dissection.’

Hervey wished he’d steered the talk to something more wholesome, though he had to accept that his purpose in being at office at this hour was to allow his staff the opportunity to speak. ‘Is that of importance, bodies for dissection?’

‘To my mind, Colonel, it is of the first importance. You may take notes for twenty years – and believe me, I have – and all will likely be to you a confusion of symptoms and incoherent phenomena. Open a few bodies and this obscurity will disappear.’

‘Tell me how so, exactly.’

‘By comparison of the change in – principally – the organs. Come to one of our dissections and observe for yourself.’

Hervey frowned. There was all the difference in the world between wielding a blade in battle and cutting cold in a dissecting theatre. ‘I may think on it.’

Sammy came with more coffee.

‘But by the bye, Colonel, I must tell you of two particular matters. Serjeant Cottam, I fear, must soon be for discharge. Pronounced cataracts.’

Hervey nodded. Cottam was a steady man (Worsley thought highly of him, as long as book work wasn’t too demanding), but he had no family; it would be a long and dismal passage home. ‘We might find him something here – lighter duties, on the civil side, say – though perhaps you’ll object that the climate isn’t favourable.’

‘He likes the climate, Colonel, and the climate likes him. Alas, the very intensity of the light exacerbates things.’

‘Have you spoken of it to him, and to Worsley?’

‘I told Cottam yesterday that I’d defer his medical board for one month, but that I couldn’t risk it beyond. I haven’t had opportunity to speak with Worsley.’

‘And Cottam was … content?’

Milne sighed.

‘I can imagine. Speak with Worsley as soon as you’re able.’

‘I will. Also … How do you find Mrs Hervey … now that the monsoon’s at an end?’

Hervey smiled. ‘Exactly as at the beginning of the monsoon. In splendid health. Have you a concern?’

‘None whatever. You reassure me. I merely wondered if she found the weather enervating, as some have.’