“Matthew,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady against the shock of seeing him like this. “Matthew, it’s me. Can you hear me? Oh, darling, can you hear me!”

But there was only silence from the quiet figure on the bed. Dr. Granville, behind her, said impatiently, “I told you not to come in-”

She whirled on him, her face twisting with fear and anger. “He’s my husband!”

As if it explained anything. Anything at all.

“Come sit in my office.” Granville was trying persuasion now. “Until I’ve had a chance to finish my examination. You mustn’t interfere. There could be internal bleeding, for one thing-” He caught himself before he added brain damage.

“Why can’t he hear me? God in heaven, you’d think he would know my voice, no matter how hurt he is!”

“He’s not conscious, Mrs. Hamilton. I’ve tried to explain-it was a severe beating about the head. One arm is broken. There’s a deep bruise on his thigh. At least two ribs cracked as well. That’s as far as I’ve got. For his sake, he’s better off out of his pain just now. I can’t administer any other relief until I know how his brain is affected. If you’ll just sit there in my office…”

She held on to Hamilton’s hand as if it were a lifeline. “I want to be here, not somewhere else. He’s going to be all right, isn’t he? And I want to be here when he wakes up.”

Granville thought, She’s hardly heard a word I’ve said to her. Aloud, he went on, “I don’t need two patients on my hands, Mrs. Hamilton. Think what’s best for your husband.”

Still she refused to let go.

He ignored her then, concentrating on running his hands over the broken body in front of him, watching the thin trickle of blood that had begun to appear at the corner of Hamilton’s mouth.

There was a commotion out front, and Mrs. Granville came to the door. “Doctor. Inspector Bennett is here. I think you ought to have a look at his foot-”