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smiled at Jenny and spoke conspiratorially. “You'll have to forgive Richard his temper. He is very concerned for Freya, as we all are. But there are no more medical tests to be administered. I won't send that frightened dear to another hospital-nor to a psychiatric clinic. I'm going to try my darndest to make love turn the trick with her. She got no love from her mother. I'm trying to make up for that. If I can't, maybe I'll finally let her see Richard's psychiatrist. But before I do-”
        They were interrupted by Dr. Malmont who was mopping rain from his large, florid face. Richard came close behind him.
        “The doctor almost drowned,” Richard said, laughing.
        “And I intend to go home straightaway after seeing Freya-and there I'm going to begin construction of an ark!”
        He was so jolly in appearance, heavy, with pleasant jowls, quick and pudgy hands, too much belly and too much hip, that whatever amusing thing he said seemed twice as funny as it truly was. He was no more than forty-five, with just a touch of gray at his temples. Though a heavy man, he was dressed neatly and well in clothes tailored for his bulk.
        “If it's an ark that's needed,” Cora said, “you've got thirty-nine more days to build it. Surely you have time for a cup of coffee.”
        “Let me see Freya first,” he said. “Then we can talk. You have been keeping up with her vitamins?”
        “Yes,” Cora said. “She had her tablet with her meal tonight. Just as usual.”
        “I'll be down shortly,” Malmont said. “No, Richard, I don't need a guide. Just have coffee ready. And if Anna has extra dessert, I'll take some, no matter what it might be!” With that he exited the dining room. He moved with quiet grace unusual in a man his size.
        He returned in less than ten minutes, took a seat across the table from Jenny where a plate had been placed. “Is this the niece? It must be,” he said without waiting for answer. “She has the same fairness as her aunt. The Brightens must all be lovely people.”
        “Thank you,” Jenny said.
        Then Anna entered with an extra dessert and coffee. The doctor's attention was directed at these until they were all but gone, the beauty of Cora's niece utterly forgotten.
        “How was she?” Richard asked when Malmont was finished.
        The doctor daubed at his lips with a napkin, rinsed the sweetness of dessert from his mouth with a swig of black coffee. “The same as the other times. I couldn't stir her. Breathing well, all life systems in good condition. I am more certain than ever that it has nothing to do with the vitamin deficiency. They are two separate problems.”
        “Do you think she needs to go to the hospital again?” Cora asked.
        “Good Lord, no!” Malmont said. “That child is fragile, Cora. She isn't a tough number like her brother. They didn't find anything at the hospital before. They won't find anything again. As long as her condition remains stable, with one or two of these spells a week, I think we should be satisfied that the original diagnosis was correct: she is physically well.”
        “What about a psychiatrist?” Richard asked.
        “I would tend-though I know this will upset you, Cora-to recommend a psychiatrist.”
        “You see!” Richard cried.
        “Hold, hold!” Malmont said to Richard. “I was about to say that I would wait a while yet. The child has had a potentially damaging infancy, with a mother who was indifferent to her, moving from hotel to hotel, from one nanny and part-tune governess to another. Much of that time, she was even in different countries where people spoke to her in constantly changing languages. That alone would be enough to disconcert her. I think we should give her a little more time in a stable environment such as this to see whether or not she requires actual professional analysis.”
        It was just the suggestion Cora wanted. She looked