t time I sa. S took o conjure t and begin to speak. ciced t s off ual purple eye s  ted appearance of a cher’s makeup box.

    t as er and tor expected. t and rage and kick and figing on ion for er to reconcile o ing, in s, te ially, to a pair of lifeless rag dolls.

    Not quite lifeless. tinued to circulate, sluggis o tor’s  site. t nig tranquility of sleep. t; tees, only it  a limb t their very souls.

    Did tists doubt top and  a siful project? t heir own self-deceiving blindness.

    tor carried out tests. er observed. And t every day, to compare notes. to discuss  first timistically called progress. Beor’s desk, or in t toget over papers on , sleep. t appetites, ty to sleep all time—t sleep o account for t  going as ed,  disastrously, but tists skirted around ty t t be doing o retain t togethey could work a miracle.

    tor derived great satisfaction from ty of  time in decades ific mind of t order.  egee’s ability to grasp a principle one minute and to apply it y and insig. Before long ted to  segee. And er o find t at long last ely nouris of tings agloement and pleasure. So tural. ed to understand t  o tting in solitude to e up tes, t individually o t a doubt cross t if t record it n tes, did not mention it to ther.

    So dependent did t undertaking t e failed to see t t  ill. Emmeline and Adeline  catatonic, and t vas noerred by tists continued tables and cs, proposed te experiments to test told t ted sometion and  on to t big idea.

    tor’s  at one remove, ty. to ting moutimes a day. t; eac s. As for Joside it all.  by no one, not t t stopped  to tc. I’m telling you. No good at all.”

    t o not for a nerick to try. At precisely t er detected small signs of improvement in Emmeline. turned oed from it. By listening outside doors (ally, er discovered t o win language.

    ‘Sold tor, ”by imagining ter.“

    tor began a regime of leaving Adeline alone for periods of several ening outside tepad and pen in hing.

    er and tor advised tience in tulated ts in Emmeline. Briged Emmeline’s increased appetite, o sit up, t feeps sook of er and tor agreed, t o consider t ermed “improvements” urning to ts s began is o judge.

    It  all plain sailing o ter used to , arrayed   o come. Dressed in t sigaking ion for er, ran o it. to bring t for  for er, wo several pieces and was bleeding.

    er took tructed Joo burn tra precaution, so turn all to t ts of the kind.

    S speak. For all tary  on be be induced to speak a single o er. to confer about. er and tor ing in t t talk, and sime. to speak, t ments, of course, but science s disappointments. And look at t Emmeline strong enougo be alloside? And s less time tering at t t step, staring in tion of tor’s ed.

    Progress? It   tset. It  muc all compared to ts er  arrived. But it  of it. Perly relieved. For ive success? It inued collaboration. And to t, t ed t.

    t of t o take someternal, to put a stop to it. Somet came quite out of the blue.

    ‘ ?“

    t ime, te look t s  o ask questions, I couldn’t help myself.

    Despite here was a green gleam of mischief in her eyes as she leaned forward confidingly.

    ‘Do you believe in gs, Margaret?“

    Do I believe in gs?  could I say? I nodded.

    Satisfied, Miss inter sat back in  unfamiliar impression of .

    ‘er didn’t. Not scientific, you see. So, not believing in gs, srouble when she saw one.“

    It his:

    One briger, ies in plenty of time, left to take to tor’s  full of a po s put a name to but t made renuous activity.

    took  incline t, t muc o tor’s, striding out vigorously, beat raised but  test sense of overexertion, feeling quite probably t s put o it, opped her dead.

    In tance, playing togetakable. t Emmeline in t morning, ther in green.

    It was impossible.

    But no. er ific. S be an explanation. Adeline or’s orpor   aking advantage of an open  of keys left unattended, siced  .

    to do? Running to tless. So approacretcance. So s to tor’s  a run.

    In no time siently at t ig t, but er ant t o tered  knocking.

    tor looked up, startled to see or’s face flusion, , flying free from its grips. S of breated to speak but for t could not.

    ‘ever is it?“  and coming around to put his hands on her shoulders.

    ‘Adeline!“ s !“

    tor, puzzled, froil she room.

    there was Adeline.

    er spun back around to tor. “But I’ve just seen es’s field…” Sly enoug ailed off as so wonder.

    ‘Calm yourself, sit doer,“ tor was saying.

    ‘S  out? And come back so quickly?“ er tried to make sense of it.

    ‘S t time.“ o er’s eyes, stirred by ion. ”It must ed, maintaining orly decorum.

    ‘But—“ er s hes. Adeline’s hair.“

    er turned to look at Adeline again.  to t ter es before but a neat navy one, and  loose but braided.

    ter turned back to tor .  steady. tional explanation for ific. And er kneotally and profoundly scientific. tion. “I must be mad,” sed and rils quivered. “I !”

    ears.

    It produced a strange sensation in tor to see or reduced to sucate of dision. And alt ist in   admired er for  inctive, t responded to egration by putting e embrace.

    er did not resist.

    Listening at doors is not bad manners or’s ist o studying  so startled tor and er came as no surprise at all to Mrs. Maudsley,  for some time.

    Sraged rig into the surgery.

    ‘I o leave tantly,“ so er. ”You can send Johe child.“

    to o you later.”

    t hings.

    Jocor nor  t learned from t ts of the morning.

    At  Adeline in  the door ajar.

    Emmeline, urned directly to up teps at a time and strode unatingly to the door behind her.

    And er? No one sao t tle room empty and er gone.

    I emerged from tory and into Miss inter’s glazed and mirrored library.

    ‘here did she go?“ I wondered.

    Miss inter eyed me  fro matter?”

    ‘S have gone somewhere.“

    toryteller gave me a side doesn’t do to get attaco ters. It’s not tory. t’s all to it.”

    I slid my pencil into tebook and o t urned back.

    ‘hen?“

    ‘For goodness’ sake! S, I tell you.“

    ‘S ter of application h a home address. Perhaps she came from an agency?“

    Miss inter closed or,  t t’s my story. I s Street, Banbury. I ruct o answer any inquiries you co make.”

    I e to Mr. Lomax t night.