thing in life was archaeology.
At least the little incident cleared her conscience. It was
obvious that Peter was not suffering at all. He seemed
perfectly normal.
The next weekend she went to the Lake District, with
one of the other teachers, to do some hill walking. The
weather was splendid, warm without being humid, and
never too hot.
The weekend was very pleasant, and, congratulating
themselves, the two decided to do it again sometime. They
met a party of fellow enthusiasts on the hills on the Sunday
and spent the day with them. All in all, Kate came home
feeling very much better.
But her mother looked up as she came into the kitchen,
still smiling, and said, “Mr. Lillitos was here yesterday,
Kate!”
Kate froze, her eyes for a second out of control, the pain
flashing into them before she had time to force a smile.
Mrs. Caulfield straightened. “Kate!” Her eyes filled with
concern. “My dear girl, whatever is it?” She frowned.
“Something he did while you were there? Kate, he didn’t
hurt you in any way, did he?”
Kate laughed, artificially. “Of course not, Mother. What
an imagination you’ve got!”
“Kate, don’t pretend with me,” her mother said, stricken.
Kate sighed. “I’m sorry, but please, don’t let’s discuss it.
What did M ... did he want?”
“He wanted to see you,” said her mother, watching her
uneasily. “He seemed angry when I told him you were away
climbing. Wanted to know who you were with—I thought it