‘You know,’ he said, ‘I have for you the greatest respect and liking. You have already improved my school out of all knowledge; you have talent, intelligence, breeding and integrity, all of which I admire very much. But I’m going to be quite honest with you. I may say – incidentally – that standing up and making a scene at Baines’s inquest will not affect the verdict one iota. What it will do will be to give the Sunday papers a headline: “Schoolteacher Exposes Black Magic Scandal in Essex Village.” I shall then give you a cheque for a year’s salary, and you will never enter our school again. I should be very sorry, very sympathetic, but I cannot employ, as a teacher, anyone who has been exposed to ridicule and the suspicion of insanity.’

She said coldly, ‘I’m prepared to take the consequences of my actions.’

He then astonished her by saying most heartily:

‘You really are the most admirable character! My only sorrow is that it is all to be wasted in such an impossible cause. Nobody is going to believe you. Oh, some bright reporter will lend you his ear and invite you to tell him a highly coloured and melodramatic story, and by next week he’ll have forgotten your name, being so busy with some film star’s fifth divorce. You see, you haven’t a shred of evidence; even the little wax doll would have been something, wouldn’t it? Nor will one voice be raised to confirm yours. It all seems such a pity.’

He had been eating his strawberries by holding them by their green hulls and dipping them, first into the thick cream and then into the sugar, and lifting them to his mouth. He now dabbled his fingers in his finger bowl, wiped them and lifted his napkin to his lips.

Pilate washing his hands, the voice in her mind said.

She said aloud, ‘You know, you can’t be sure of that, Canon Thorby. Once, somewhere, and I greatly regret that I have forgotten where, I read something. “He who is prepared to fight alone will always have an army at his back.” Other people may have noticed things, had suspicions, feared ridicule. And given a lead . . .’

He laughed. ‘Do you know, I was on the brink of saying, I hope you are right. You see I’m on the verge of schizophrenia. I never could resist the little David facing up to Goliath. And you haven’t even got a sling. I must ask you one more question and then I’ll take you home. Tell me truthfully. Do you think that I am involved in all this nonsense?’