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‘He must have grown in the time he was away.’
    ‘Three years is a long time in a dog’s life,’ was Hubert’s soothing response.
    Leaning forward, Kate kissed Thane’s head and looked across at me. ‘Thank you for taking such good care of him and bringing him back to us again.’ And to Collins, who was standing by with nurse-like hands primly folded, she said, ‘Will it be all right if he stays with me for a while?’
    ‘During the day, yes, of course, Miss Kate.’
    Thane raised his head in my direction, giving me a look of despair. ‘He needs a lot of exercise,’ I protested. ‘He’s not used to being treated like a lapdog.’
    Hubert came to our rescue, smiling at Kate. ‘Since he has spent the last three years with Mrs McQuinn and is used to her daily routine, we must leave it so for the present, my dear.’ Another reassuring smile. ‘Especially as you are not well enough to go out of doors and take him for long walks – yet.’
    Did he mean ‘if ever’? I looked at him sharply, but his face remained inscrutable, and as Kate sighed and looked a little sulky at this decision, he added gently, ‘We don’t want him to run away from us again, do we, now?’
    She shook her head and Collins said, ‘It is time for your bath, Miss Kate.’
    I blessed her for that as Thane took the opportunity of rushing back to my side.
    ‘We will see you later, my dear.’ Hubert kissed Kate’s forehead and motioned us towards the door. As we descended the staircase, not a word of explanation was forthcoming.
    In the hall he turned to me, saying, ‘Lunch is at one o’clock. Feel free to use the library.’ He indicated a door across the hall. ‘Anything you need, just ask Mrs Robson.’
    Dismissed with another of those penetrating looks, I went out into the fresh air and Thane, glad to be released, trotted ahead, eager to explore his new surroundings.
    I had much to be thoughtful about. Most important, I was sure that Kate did not remember Roswal, although three years is a long time in a child’s life. But then, at fourteen, grief for a beloved pet gone missing was worthy of comment; a bereavement not easily forgotten.
    But what concerned me most was that she certainly did not resemble the child dying of consumption my stepbrother had led me to expect.
    These two facts led to one logical question: What was the real reason Thane and I had been brought to Staines?
     
    As the situation I had just left suggested that I might be in Staines longer than I had been led to believe, I decided that Thane and I should explore the grounds and get our bearings.
    We were fortunate indeed. It was a truly beautiful morning, which bestowed a sprinkling of magic to hide the cracks and bruises of a somewhat neglected estate.
    Following a narrow downhill path that led to a pond fed by a underground stream, and looking back, I discovered that Staines Manor stood in a commanding position above us, overlooking a tiny hamlet surrounding a green, complete with market cross and ancient church, while far to the right the rural landscape was scarred by a pithead.
    Smoke from a railway train identified this as the level crossing where we had encountered the stray cow on the approach to Alnwick.
    On the outskirts of the village, there were skeletons of roofless houses and broken walls overgrown with grass, which suggested that Staines had known more prosperous days under earlier landlords, before coal had been discovered on the land.
    Shading my eyes, from my vantage point I was sure that I could see a line of shining water mingling with the bright horizon, and the air carried the salt tang of the North Sea. Breathing deeply, I let the surroundings, silent and ancient, creep into my soul. The brooding stillness, the waiting expectancy of the hills where human sounds are quieted and the peace of ages creeps over sun-warmed earth and a scrambled quiltdown of distant fields.
    There are moments when memory remains fixed and forever indelible. And