t morning, ray, I gave ter for Mr. Lomax, and sook a letter for me from . I recognized my fating.

    My fatters , and tion. range and deligeentury Danis ell me about  auction eentury letters no one seemed to . Migerested?  te detectives? ell, per  as er? t skills, and come to t, imes came into to use tended to pursue tter,  but desiccated four her sends her love.

    Did s? I ioning, I’ll e to Margaret ternoon, and she—casually? warmly?—Send her my love.

    No. I couldn’t imagine it. It ion. ritten  o please me? to make it true? as it for me or for  s to connect us? It ask. My motinents moving slo inexorably apart; my fatantly extending tructed to connect us.

    A letter  t  o me.

    Dear Miss Lea,I  a noance—and even more pleased to be of assistance. t  to be: a presumption in las ime and in sucances t deation. Its main function is to enable tate of a missing person to be passed into tors.

    I aken traced ts relating to ticularly interested in. Your Mr. Angelfield ly a man of reclusive s, and te and circumstances of  to be knoic  by one Mr. Lomax on beors (t formalities to be duly carried out. tate  value, t by a fire t left tself uninable. But you  documents.

    You  tor uations ance) to take care of his own affairs.

    It  particular attention t I noted ture of t  illegible, but I managed to  out in tumbled across one of t-kept secrets of t per already? Is t inspired your interest in the case?

    Fear not! I am a man of test discretion! tell your fato give me a good discount on titiae Naturalis Principia, and I  a o anyone!

    Your servant,illiam urned straigo t copy Professor Cadold me t s least. And on ter. And after it, in brackets, the words, formerly known as Adeline March.

    Proof.

    Vida inter was Adeline March.

    Selling truth.

    it to my appointment in tened and scribbled in my little book as Miss inter recounted termater’s departure.

    Adeline and Emmeline spent t nig day in to eacacit agreement beto treat t, and, in a o to nose, gazing cross-eyed at eac a  a smile. Blinking in unison. And ransfusion t took place via t ty-four-ion t   left its scar.

    Meane of confusion over  to disillusion  t o or  from him when she’s coming back.”

    to speak, and  you go asking  ask  all. Besides,  be seeing he place no more.”

    turned ater er not t? And tor—ant visitor—   someto  race in  clearly made sense to ot alo ions to try and understand it, a queer look came into people’s eyes,  of it.

    Joted t er ure of to take a great burden from o t longer co er  all. S to o take up opiary garden—and s so subtly, so discreetly, t it ter for o reorganize il it told  tirely  became clear t s s from t polisove, legs up on table, for op him now?

    In to ed igue. You could sometimes eps across times, ear to ted sobs of a c be t in some deeply mysterious till scientific  of  bay? It did not seem impossible.

    It  only people o er’s absence. to it instantly. t t. tap-tap-tap of er’s feet trotting up and doairs and along corridors. to a , too. t er  t o put  be paid for ools and left, came back once for his ladders, was never seen again.

    On t day of silence, and as if noto interrupt it, ts long, slo of decay. Small t: Dirt began to seep from every crevice in every object in every room. Surfaces secreted dust. indo fine layer of grime. All of er’s ctention to be maintained. And as t first  nature of to reassert itself. time came  feeling the old cling of grime on your fingers.

    Objects, too,  quickly back to t to go . Overnig of locks and off keyrings, togety companionsy beneaticks, o Emmeline’s stasreasure under t took tairs, ains took to draure made t of to move about. A sofa incs place against ted t to t. All evidence of t reasserting herself.

    A roof in ts  gets better. Some of t by to mend. It tic and feel t rain ter. to soften, ter dripped to t to tread,  o see straigo t room’s floor gave o t one day be possible to stand in to ter, like God, moves in mysterious y indirectly. Inside  finds secret gullies and run seeps and trickles in unexpected directions; surfaces in t unlikely places. All around to soak up t, but no one ever ; saucepans and boc to cant -less brouger off ting into tar. In ttic, teady t oothis?

    It  er and tor ed. Of course tion irely eradicated. Yet t tly. Adeline after all o a state of fugue once sood or . S  at t s ime passed a it mattered no was over, and so life again.

    For Emmeline, t. S  ounded t t die of it. But sloime  only . And time ime at least, to feel otions besides grief. In s, Emmeline adapted to  apart.

    Yet still ted and  t immediately know.

    At t of reunion. t, topiary gardens trees, playing endless games of no, a repetition of t experience of loss and rediscovery t Adeline never seemed to tire of. For Emmeline, ty began gradually to agonism crept in. Emmeline ed to go one . And as before, it was usually Emmeline w self, shis.

    ter, s miss  ion er all, t it  only t, but er aken up s and ific consultations t, per realizing it, sed Emmeline. During t time, finding omed solitude, Emmeline racting s and entertainments t so enjoy for t s expect to give up just because er was back.

    So it  on ter t-and-found game in topiary garden and o t a pack of cards. Lying on omacable, s aire, but t, most cime; t s fail. And every time sed.

    ilted  exactly , but uned constantly to old . Ser. hen she had finished her game.

    An er, o tigo defend o table and, erical  Emmeline.

    Emmeline did not raise a finger to defend  a sound, neittack nor w was all over.

    , sood for a fees cer. Blood o ttered everywo a ball, and urned her back and walked away.

    Emmeline remained il Joo find er. ook o t of  a compress on reated c er was ed. “I do wish I knew when she was coming back.”

    ‘S be coming back,“ Jorying to contain  like to see ther.

    ‘But I don’t see  a word. ever can h her family…“

    Joimes, to, t er  come back. t o , too, and more besides, and by no  t in t kno t terous affair or.

    It able t one day rumors of er’s “be first so entertain t er—er—could  o Jo or’s t day, ing t directly from t occurred. And besides,   of t occurred?

    ‘ammered, ”an emergency…“

    ‘ter, tten,  s to come back? Ster?“

    the Missus shook her head.

    ‘ell to keep tisfaction from  s ougo, and s be coming back. Sake it from me.“

    t round and around it in  knoo believe. the world had become a very confusing place.

    GONE!

    Only Ced. t under er’s regime side t breakfast, luncomato, a bo unpredictable intervals,  make any difference to C   eat a mouterday’s c if it isn’t t, and  boto . It  er, in ure,  changed.

    Yet c o do er.

    From time to time a letter o time to time someone . A feer Jo about tter from er, ticed a small pile of letters gat on t under tter box. Shem.

    One from Cerested in an investment opportunity… ?

    the roof.

    as ter?

    No. the asylum. Isabelle was dead.

    tared at tter. Dead! Isabelle! Could it be true? Influenza, tter said.

    Co be told, but t t. Better talk to Dig first, sting tters aside. But later,   tcable and sopping up ea, trace of tter in  , lost moments, lived and felt but unrecorded and t. Neverter, passing tray of burnt toast and bacon, s tters on tray  all of tents.

    And to  all, except t t got ted on t fart became easier and easier to forget t ter.

    It hing had happened.

    doors man and not domesticated. Nevert time o do for one more cup of tea  being first e t  cannot be used straiger for cooked. y plates and cups piled up,  to and do t o see  ton boots and  erra-cotta pots and tender plants. And it came to tention t tes antly of tairs e for Master Curn an empty plate to tchen? No.

    upstairs. Outside tes and cups ouc for t buzzed over it, and t smell.  noticing t till untoucoted up tes and cups and fro is when he knew.

    knock at t ? o go to imber strong enougo use as a battering ram. t against tal ore ao the door.

    tered door fell open, s errible stenc, knocking Emmeline and teps. Even Jo o urned a ser. “Stay back,” ered the room. A few paces behind, I followed him.

    e stepped gingerly tting food on tirring clouds of flies up into ty plates covered elpiece, on cable. ttering ram ill iously, and a startled rat came scurrying out over our feet. It ted vomit encrusted table by the Missus’s old darning needle.

    ty. Just crumpled, filts stained her human vileness.

    e did not speak. e tried not to breaty, c . to steel o open to t. Before it snagged in my nostrils, my skin seemed to smell it, and a cold s bloomed all over my body. toilet  quite contain t o cover. But t ook a sep back and  t, taken teps back myself. In tink of  droppings and t into tairs and out of doors.

    I  looked fres.

    ‘All rigted my back  ill trembling.

    t ions all over  could ell her?

    e , C. But Charlie himself?

    ‘ told her. ”he’s gone.“

    I returned to my room, t tory. It . teresting turn of events. It left me t t curious abbreviation: ldd. But ticed? I  I iced. today Miss inter had said I.

    In my room, on a tray next to the ham sandwiches, I found a large brown envelope.

    Mr. Lomax, tor, o my letter by return of post. Attaco  kindly note ract,  aside, a letter of recommendation from a Lady Blake in Naples, ively of er’s gifts, and, most interesting of all, a letter accepting t, ten by the miracle worker herself.

    Dear Dr. Maudsley,to me.

    I so take up t at Angelfield on t.

    I  trains run only to Banbury. Per make my o Angelfield from t Banbury Station at  ten.

    Yours sincerely, er Barrourdy capitals, consistency in t of tters, a sense of smoote loops of tter size s. No elaborate curls, flounces or flourisy of tion t governed eacter. It was a good, clean  was er herself, made word.

    In top right-hand corner was an address in London.

    Good, I t. I can find you now.

    I reacranscription, e a letter to t Fat er: I o introduce myself, for less be unaoucly on tter of to justify my claim on ime; I o enumerate everyt er: Naples, London, Angelfield. But t of my letter was simple: Find her.