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disappointment. Hot soup, a sizzling omelette, piping hot coffee—any of these would have been welcome at Great Dunmow. Perhaps, despite his denial, he wasanxious not to catch her cold. She muffled a sneeze and tried to blow her nose soundlessly.
    By the time they reached the outskirts of London she was feeling wretched; she had the beginnings of a headache, a running nose and icy shivers down her spine. The idea of getting a meal, seeing to Gustavus and crawling down to the bathroom was far from inviting. She sneezed again and he handed her a large, very white handkerchief.
    ‘Oh, dear,’ said Theodosia. She heaved a sigh of relief at his quiet, ‘We’re very nearly there.’
    Only he seemed to be driving the wrong way. ‘This is the Embankment,’ she pointed out. ‘You missed the way …’
    ‘No. You are coming home with me. You’re going to have a meal and something for that cold, then I’ll drive you back.’
    ‘But that’s a lot of trouble and there’s Gustavus …’
    ‘No trouble, and Gustavus can have his supper with my housekeeper.’
    He had turned into a narrow street, very quiet, lined with Regency houses, and stopped before the last one in the terrace.
    Theodosia was still trying to think of a good reason for insisting on going back to Mrs Towzer’s but she was given no chance to do so. She found herself out of the car and in through the handsome door and borne away by a little stout woman with grey hair and a round, cheerful face who evinced no surprise at her appearance but ushered her into a cloakroom at the back of the narrow hall, tut-tutting sympathetically as she did so.
    ‘That’s a nasty cold, miss, but the professor will have something for it and there’ll be supper on the table in no time at all.’
    So Theodosia washed her face and tidied her hair, feeling better already, and went back into the hall and was ushered through one of the doors there. The room was large and high-ceilinged with a bow window overlooking the street. It was furnished most comfortably, witharmchairs drawn up on each side of the bright fire burning in the steel grate, a vast sofa facing it, more smaller chairs, a scattering of lamp tables and a mahogany rent table in the bow window. There were glass-fronted cabinets on either side of the fireplace and a long case clock by the door.
    Theodosia was enchanted. ‘Oh, what a lovely room,’ she said, and smiled with delight at the professor.
    ‘Yes, I think so, too. Come and sit down. A glass of sherry will make you feel easier; you’ll feel better when you have had a meal. I’ll give you some pills later; take two when you go to bed and two more in the morning. I’ll give you enough for several days.’
    She drank her sherry and the housekeeper came presently to say that supper was on the table. ‘And that nice cat of yours is sitting by the Aga as though he lived here, miss. Had his supper, too.’
    Theodosia thanked her and the professor said,‘This is Meg, my housekeeper. She was my nanny a long time ago. Meg, this is Miss Theodosia Chapman; she works at the hospital.’
    Meg smiled broadly. ‘Well, now, isn’t that nice?’ And she shook the hand Theodosia offered.
    Supper was everything she could have wished for—piping hot soup, an omelette as light as air, creamed potatoes, tiny brussels sprouts and little egg custards in brown china pots for pudding. She ate every morsel and the professor, watching the colour creep back into her cheeks, urged her to have a second cup of coffee and gave her a glass of brandy.
    ‘I don’t think I would like it …’
    ‘Probably not. I’m giving it to you as a medicine so toss it off, but not too quickly.’
    It made her choke and her eyes water, but it warmed her too, and when she had finished it he said, ‘I’m going to take you back now. Go straight to bed and take your pills and I promise you that you will feel better in the morning.’
    ‘You’ve been very kind; I’m very grateful. And it was a lovely