Her thoughts kept drifting uncontrollably to Colbeck and she felt pangs of loneliness. She kept telling herself how lucky she’d been. Since their marriage, he’d always worked on cases that kept him in or near London. Madeleine had been spoilt. She’d been able to see him every day and take an interest in what he was doing. All that had changed. He was now hundreds of miles away, leading an investigation about which she knew almost nothing. She felt excluded, cut adrift from something she’d taken for granted. Even with the servants there, the house felt empty and the marital bed felt even emptier. It was at night that she missed him most but it was something she had to endure as best she could because the Railway Detective’s work would take him all over the country. Unable to paint without natural light, Madeleine put her brush aside as the evening shadows started to lengthen. She was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. Not expecting a visitor, she wondered who it might be and opened the door to listen.
