24Althea did not quite lose consciousness but she came very near it. She lay on the sofa and felt vaguely how strange it was that she should be lying there with a soft rug over her and a cushion beneath her head. A small firm hand lifted the rug and felt her wrist. She opened her eyes a little way and said, ‘I’m all right.’ There was still a lot of mist in the room. Miss Silver’s voice came through it.
‘Yes, you are quite all right. Just lie still and rest.’
It would be lovely to let go of everything and slip into a dream. But there was something she had to do first. No, it was something she had to say, only she couldn’t quite get hold of it—it seemed to be just out of her reach. And there was an urgency about it—she couldn’t let it go. She had to think what it was—she had to say it. Her
