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By Root 279 0

of a rebel. He had outraged his parents by leaving the army, in which his family had a long and honourable tradition, and becoming a doctor in one of London's poorer hospitals in the East End. For the last twenty years of his life, his father had refused to speak to him, a situation which Litefoot regarded as eminently regrettable, but which nevertheless had not swayed him from his chosen path.

To compound his family's shame, Litefoot had never married, and therefore had no children to continue the family name. Furthermore, although he lived comfortably enough and had a handsome private income, he flew in the face of convention by refusing to flaunt his wealth and surround himself with servants and material possessions. Most men of his standing had a butler, a housekeeper, a cook, a nanny for the children, and several maidservants, but Litefoot, who preferred his privacy, was content enough with a single housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, who came in from outside to cook and clean every day except Sunday. He had no private carriage (and therefore no groomsman), and although, by modern standards, his house was cluttered with furniture and ornaments (many of which reflected his upbringing in Peking), compared with those of his neighbours, the number of his personal effects was relatively small.

'I'm sorry, Professor, for being so obtuse,' the Doctor said. 'What I... er, we actually do, what we actually are, is a little too complex to explain.'

'Top secret too,' said Sam importantly.'Need-to-know, all that kind of thing.'

'Ah,' said Litefoot. 'Then perhaps I ought not to pry, after all. Though answer me these questions, if you will. How are the Doctor and Miss Leela? What, sir, is your name? And what brings the two of you here at such an unsociable hour?'

'The Doctor is fit and well,' said the Doctor, grinning at Sam. 'Leela is married, with children I believe. My name... well, this is where it does get a little complicated. You see, Professor, in our... um...'

'Department,' supplied Sam.

'Yes, department, we are all known as the Doctor. It's a sort of...

codename.' He pulled an apologetic face.

Litefoot raised his eyebrows and shook his head. 'Indeed? I must say, sir, this state of affairs gets queerer by the minute.' Then suddenly he was smiling mischievously. 'Jolly intriguing, all the same.'

'Isn't it?' the Doctor agreed, his grin reappearing.'As for our appearance here tonight, I can only apologise, Professor, on behalf of myself and my niece, for turning up unannounced on your doorstep like this.The fact is, we're working on rather a hush-hush case, and came to London -at short notice. The Doctor gave us your address and assured us that we would be certain of a warm welcome.'

'And so you are, both of you,' Litefoot said with sudden bonhomie.'As friends of the Doctor's you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like.

I must confess, my life has been singularly lacking in excitement these past few years/Then he added ruefully, 'My only hope is that if events turn out anything like as perilous as the last time, my poor old heart will be able to stand the strain.'

***

At the stroke of seven a.m. Emmeline Seers was woken as usual by a timid knock on her bedroom door.The moment she opened her eyes she felt fresh and alert. 'Come in, Mary,' she called.

The door opened and Mary Dobbs, the housemaid, entered with the tea tray.

'Good morning, Mary,' said Emmeline.'How are you today?'

'Very well, thank you, Miss Emmeline; said Mary demurely.

She was eighteen, two years younger than Emmeline herself.

Miss Emmeline, I have always found your father a most kind and gracious employer. But of late...'

'Go on,' coaxed Emmeline.

'Of late, he has seemed... troubled. I must confess, both Lottie and I are a little afraid of him.'

Emmeline patted the hand she still held, then released it. 'Thank you, Mary, for being honest with me. It's certainly true that all is not well with him at present. But try not to worry. I intend to rectify the situation.'

'You, Miss Emmeline?' Mary said,