I said of course not and when I had ridden through the great gate and down the incline towards the woods Joel joined me.

"Hello," he said as if by surprise. "Riding alone today?"

"Yes. Jessamy is busy."

"Are you going anywhere special?"

"No. Just riding aimlessly."

"Do you mind if I ride along with you for a while?"

"I'd like that," I said.

So we rode through the woods and I was as excited as I had been since our encounter in the church and again at the wedding. It was that particular brand of excitement which only he could inspire in me.

He asked how I was enjoying my visit and then he talked about the vicarage and the church which had so impressed him, and I found myself rattling on. I felt joyous; I wanted to catch and hold the minutes to prevent their passing.

"I suppose all vicars' daughters and wives lead the same sort of existence," I said. "There is always the great concern. Of course it can be the roof, the steeple or the belfry... . This is the century of crumbling churches in England, which is very logical, I suppose, since most of them were built at least five hundred years ago. You must have problems with the castle."

"Constant," he assured me. "Our great enemy, deathwatch beetle, is continually summoning us to action. We win a battle or two and then we hear him knocking in another place. That's my brother's concern really."

"And yours is your profession. Are there many doctors in the family?"

"No. I'm the first. It was something of a battle but I was insistent."

"Yes," I said, "you would be."

"Oh, you have summed me up, have you?"

"Yes, as the kind of man who, when he makes up his mind he wants something, gets it."

"I don't think it is quite like that, but there was nothing in the way of my taking up the medical profession. It was just that it had never been done before, and if you know of a sillier reason for not doing something than that it has not been done before, please tell me."

"I know of none," I said. "So you studied and finally qualified."

"I did. It wasn't as though I was the heir. Second sons have more freedom than heirs. It is sometimes not a bad thing to be a second son."

"Certainly it wasn't in your case. Tell me about your studies. Do you specialize in anything?"

"No ... just general... ." He told me about his apprenticeship and how finally he had set up a practice in the town. "It was not before it was needed," he said. "There's a dearth of doctors in this area. I've plenty to do, I can tell you." He turned to me suddenly. "Would you like to see my quarters? I'd like to show you. I'm hoping soon to build a hospital in the town. It's what we need."

"Yes," I said, "I should very much like to."

"Then come with me. We're nearly there."

We were on the outskirts of the town and we rode on in silence. I wondered how much he talked to Jessamy. He clearly found pleasure in discussing his work.

Mateland was a small town and as we rode through it several people called a greeting to him. I felt pleased because clearly he was popular. He discussed them with me. "That's an enlarged heart going up there. It's hard to treat. He's far too energetic... . Kidneys," he said of a thin little woman who called, "Good morning, Doctor," as we passed.

I laughed. "So they are hearts and kidneys and whatever is wrong with them to you."

"That's what I'm interested in."

"The rest of us are bodies as a whole, I suppose, until of course you find one of our organs worthy of notice."

"That sums it up, I suppose."

We had come to a house of three stories. It stood apart from the rest of the houses in the street. There was a drive in and a semicircular path which went up to the house and had a gate at each end. We rode in, dismounted and he tethered our horses.

As we went into the house a woman came into the hall. I guessed at once that she was the housekeeper.

"Dorothy," he said, "this is Miss Campion, my wife's cousin."

Dorothy gave me an appraising look.

"Good day to you, miss," she said.

"Are there any messages?" asked Joel.

"Jim Talbot's been in. He says if you could look in on his wife this afternoon he'd be glad. She's better, he says, but not right yet."

"I'll go this afternoon, Dorothy." He turned to me. "Would you like some tea or coffee? There's time, I think, Dorothy, before surgery begins."

"I should like some coffee," I said, and Dorothy went out.

That was an enchanted hour to me. He glowed with enthusiasm for his work and it occurred to me that he did not find it easy to talk to many people as he did to me. His life was so different from that of the other members of the family. A modern doctor in that medieval setting!

As we drank the coffee he explained something of this to me.

"If I had been the elder," he said, "I should never have been able to pursue this and it means a great deal to me. I can't explain how exciting it is. One never knows when one is going to discover something of vital importance ... some strange symptom, some cure ... something to give one a lead as to how to go on. It was an old doctor who inspired me when I was a boy. He came to the castle to see my mother and I used to watch and listen to him. My father laughed when I said I wanted to be a doctor. 'Why not?' I said. 'There's David to run the castle estate.' In fact they would have liked me to help him. But David and I never saw things in the same way. There would have been friction. I don't know who is the more stubborn—he or I. We each want our own way and, when two people like us start pulling in different directions, something has to give. Why didn't you come to the castle with Jessamy in the first place? You said you were often at Seton Manor?"

"I wasn't asked," I said.

He looked at me very steadily and then he said something which both alarmed and delighted me. It was just: "A pity!"

I heard myself saying quickly: "Well, I finally came."

He was silent for a moment. Then he said: "We're a strange lot at the castle, aren't we?"

"Are you?"

"Don't you find us so?"

"All people are unexpected when you get to know them."

"So you don't think there is anything specially different about us?"

"No. Except that you can trace your ancestry back hundreds of years and you live in a castle."

"I live quite a lot of my time here." He hesitated.

"Does Jessamy like it here?" I asked.

"She ... she hasn't been here a great deal. I stay here when I want to be early the next morning or I am working late."

"It's not very far from the castle."

"But it sometimes seems simpler to stay."

I thought it was strange that Jessamy had not mentioned this.

"Talking about our being different," he went on, "there are always rumors about us, you know. There's supposed to be some curse on us. It affects the Mateland wives."

"Oh, what is the curse?"

"It's a long story. Briefly, at the time of the Civil War there was discord between the castle and some of the townspeople here. They were for the Parliament. The castle was of course strictly Royalist. The King's army was in the ascendant here at one time and apparently they raided the town; one of the citizens escaped and came to the castle with his young wife, who was pregnant. He asked for succor. It was refused and one of my ancestors threatened to hand them over to the King's men. They went away; the wife died in a ditch and her husband cursed the Matelands. They had murdered his wife, he said, and they should know no luck in theirs."

"Well, I dare say that has been disproved time and time again."

"I don't know that it has. The odd thing about these legends is that now and then they have a habit of coming true, and when they do they grow in strength."

"And when they don't I suppose they are forgotten."

"My mother went into a decline when I was ten years old," he said. "You know Jessamy is my second wife. I shall never forget the night Rosalie died. She was my wife ... my first wife. She was eighteen. We had known each other since we were children. She was dainty and pretty and rather frivolous. She loved to dance and was rather vain about her appearance ... rather charmingly vain, you understand?"

"Yes," I said. "I understand."

"There was going to be a ball at the castle. She had talked for days about her gown. It was a mass of frills ... lilac color, I remember. She was enchanted with it and tried it on the night before the ball. She danced round and round the room in it. She went too close to the candle flame. We tried to save her ... but it was too late."

"What a terrible thing. I am so sorry."

"There was nothing that could be done," he said quietly.

I put out a hand and touched his. "But you are happy now," I said.

He took my hand and held it but he did not answer.

"Then," he went on, "there was a riding accident. Emerald, you know. My mother ... Rosalie ... Emerald ..."

"But now you have Jessamy and luck will change."

He kept looking at me and still he said nothing. But something passed between us. There was so much that did not have to be said. I understood. He had found a certain peace with Jessamy but he wanted something more.

How did I know? Because of a certain longing in his eyes, because of my response to him and my awareness that he knew of this.

I put down my coffee cup.

"Your patients will be arriving," I said.

"I am glad you came," he answered.

"It was all so interesting."

He went with me to the horses.

I rode away thoughtfully and as I was about to enter the woods I heard the sound of horse's hoofs behind me. Then a rider was at my side.

"Good morning to you." It was David.

"Good morning," I said. "I am just returning to the castle."

"No objection to my joining you, I hope. I am going back myself."

I inclined my head.

"Do I detect a lack of enthusiasm? I see I am not as fortunate as my brother. What did you think of that place of his?"

I said: "Have you been following me?"

His smile was malicious. "I just happened to see you emerging with old Joel. You were both looking mightily pleased with yourselves."

"I had met him by chance and he offered to show me his place in the town. It does not seem to me that there is anything in such a natural occurrence to warrant your amusement."

"Quite right," he said. "All very proper and natural. Why shouldn't our noble doctor show his cousin-in-law this practice of his? I just thought I ought to drop a little word of warning into your innocent ears. There's nothing to choose between us, you know. We're all the same. Mateland men all have the same roving eye ... they always have ... they've been noted for it from the days of King Stephen. They don't change their ways any more than leopards change their spots. Beware of the Matelands, dear Anabel, and particularly beware of Joel."

"You really are letting your imagination run away with you. Both you and your brother are happily married men."

"Are we?" he asked.

"And," I said, "I find this conversation rather distasteful."

"In that case," he said, inclining his head in mock respect, "we must not pursue it."

We went back to the castle in silence. I was very disturbed. I knew that I must get away from there and that I should not come back.

How dull it was at the vicarage. My thoughts were in the castle. Jessamy wrote to me.

I do miss you, Anabel. You should come for Christmas. It will be a traditional Christmas in the castle. It has to be as it was celebrated hundreds of years ago ... all wassailing and so on, and the great bowl in the hall with steaming punch in it. I heard about it from Esmond. He and I are becoming great friends. There is to be a carol service in the hall on Christmas Eve, and then there will be distribution of baskets of Christmas fare to all the needy villagers. They come up to the castle to collect them. The gardeners are beginning on the decorations. We shall have a house party. Do come, Anabel. It will be spoilt for me if you don't. Joel is kept very busy. I have hardly seen him for several weeks. He says there is a lot of sickness in the town. He works very hard. Grandfather Egmont doesn't like it. He says there has never before been such a thing as a Mateland actually taking money from others for what he does. He thinks it's degrading. Mind you, Joel doesn't take money from the poor. He doesn't need it really. All the Matelands are rich ... very rich, I think. Joel is really a very good man, Anabel. He is indeed... .