"Walter's heart was racing, and Dr. Fielding asked me if he'd had a shock or bad news-that sort of thing-but of course I didn't know, and Walter couldn't remember anything happening to him. And the motorcar was all right, there hadn't been a crash."

Rutledge turned to Matron. "And the doctors here examined him as soon as he was brought in?"

"Yes. Mr. Teller had a history of malaria, and he'd lived abroad. We had several specialists in to see him, and one was concerned about parasites. But Mr. Teller hadn't returned to the field since before the war, and therefore parasites weren't likely. Dr. Sheldon, an expert in tropical medicine, came to examine him, and he could find no evidence of disease."

She glanced at Jenny Teller and then went on. "We asked another specialist to speak with Mr. Teller, to see if his problems were more likely to be the result of some illness of the mind. But Mr. Teller was quite rational in his answers. And then that night-the second day of his having come to the Belvedere-he refused his dinner, turned his face to the wall, and was unresponsive to the staff or to Mrs. Teller. And he was that way for the remainder of the week. We could see that his paralysis was growing steadily worse, and we had to do everything for him-from lifting a glass of water to his lips to helping him turn in bed."

Hamish said, "Ye ken, there was something on his mind."

Rutledge nearly answered him aloud. Instead, he said to Jenny Teller, "Do you know of anything that was troubling your husband?"

"No. I'd have told the doctors straightaway." She sniffed. "I was the one in distress, over Harry going to school. Walter was insistent that we carry out his father's wishes. And his father has been dead for six years!"

"Why was Mr. Teller so determined to send your son away? Did he and the boy get along?"

She stared at him. "Of course they got along. They're very close. It's his father's fault.