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R ose was glad not be walking home. She hadn’t realised how unfit she was. But since Andrew hadn’t known about Simon’s plan and Simon had decided to take a lift too, it wasn’t exactly comfortable in the back-seat of the hired Cinquecento.

Rose was tall and her knees were virtually up her nose.

‘If you were that keen to get back in shape Simon, why didn’t you return on foot like you said?’ she complained.

‘One shouldn’t walk on a full stomach,’ argued Simon. ‘I’ve eaten half a farm. I bet you just had a lentil waffle or something. You could be walking.’

‘Children, children,’ admonished Andrew. ‘are you two ever going to grow up?’

‘I will when he does.’

‘It’s only five miles.’

‘So why aren’t you sitting in the back?’

For all her disquiet, Rose was surprised to find Simon in good spirits. She mentioned the wolf howling but he just grinned.

As they entered the bungalow, Rose stretched the feeling back into her legs and mentioned the notice in the paper. Simon shrugged.

‘I know about it,’ he said. ‘Emmeline came and found us in the hotel, mentioned that she’d taken a wee risk and advertised it before asking, hoping that my good nature blah blah blah.

She was so coy it was like talking to a Victorian maiden aunt rather than a married woman from the twenty-first century. ’

‘She does that,’ said Rose, rubbing the pins and needles from her sparking feet. ‘Don’t tell me you said yes?’

‘Why shouldn’t I?’

Andrew rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll come back when you’ve stopped bickering,’ he said and went to check out Simon’s room.

Simon’s voice was calm but cold. ‘I said, “why shouldn’t I?”’

‘Because Emmeline runs everyone and everything with a housewife fixation,’ argued Rose. ‘You’re just playing into her hands.’

‘So what? I don’t know why you’re letting that old bat get to you. She’s just a middle-aged country bumpkin who thinks a proper woman should be able to cook. Not sure I disagree on that one.’

‘ Sky knew she was more than that, and they met for all of two minutes.’

‘Leave Sky out of it.’

‘Stop telling me what to think.’

‘Then stop being melodramatic. What does Emmeline want from you anyway?’

‘To join her Guild…’

‘Yawn. Is that all? Just say no.’

‘Half the local women belong. All sorts, not just the home-knitted knickers and jam-makers. There’s the bank manager, some sort of research scientist, some stay-at-home mums who also run a book group….’

‘Then join. We’ve just moved here. You might meet someone interesting. It’s not like you do much.’

‘Thanks. I wonder whose fault that is.’

‘You don’t have to look after me. I could manage the attacks on my own.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. When have you ever managed anything on your own?’

‘Calm down Rose,’ said Simon. ‘Don’t get hysterical. What else does Emmeline want?’

‘She wants you to give that talk to the Guild.’

‘Which is fine. I’ll give the best talk they’ve ever had. Bet they couldn’t believe their luck when someone from TV moved here. Can they afford me though?’

‘Simon. Will you listen? I swear it’s a blind. She was sniffing round here like a bloodhound. She was trying to get into your room.’

‘Well, she’s not the first woman to do that.’

‘Will you take this seriously? What if she’d managed?’

‘Oh get a grip, Posie. You had me locked up like the crown jewels. She’s just nosey, that’s all. There’s nothing to do out here. Even you must find it boring.’

‘You’re not listening! She knew too much. She pretended she knew nothing and then she started to ask about David.’

‘Rose, it was in the news. You know it was. You were the one dealing with the reporters.’

‘It was the way she talked about it. It was as if she knew exactly what had happened. Just like Sky did. Two of them, Simon, talking as if they knew exactly what happened when I don’t. Why don’t I know?’

‘I said leave Sky out of it.’

‘Oh I’ve finally managed to touch a nerve have I? And I wasn’t talking about Sky. I was asking why I…’

Simon unballed his fists and gripped her shoulders.

‘Listen to me, I’m giving that talk. And do you know what else? I’ll speak to production and maybe we’ll film it live and maybe I’ll tell the world everything. What? You’ve got a problem with that?’

‘You can’t do that.’

‘Why not? Maybe it’s something which should be out in the open. Maybe if I talk about it, others will come forward.’

Rose wrenched herself away. ‘It’s not that kind of thing. You’d be locked up. Or worse.’

‘Maybe there are hundreds of us and this is a chance to get it into the open.’

‘For God’s sake Simon, that’s exactly what Emmeline wants you to do.’

‘Maybe she does know by some yokel inbred sixth sense. But maybe there are hundreds of Andrews trying to find a cure, all at different stages. Maybe getting it out there will bring them all together.’

‘Simon! Will you shut up and use your brain for once! You have not got an infectious skin disease! You’re a werewolf! You.. are… a.. werewolf! She doesn’t want to help you! She wants to destroy you!’

Simon suddenly grinned and hugged her. Rose thumped him and kicked his leg.

‘Calm down Posie, you’ll burst something. Take a deep breath and go and get us a cup of coffee. It’ll be fine.’

Andrew peered round the door of the sitting room.

‘Is it safe to come in?’ he asked. ‘And Simon, I think you should make us the coffee to make up for shoving Rose virtually in the boot.’

Simon let her go and went out whistling.

‘Why do I feel you’re worried about more than you’re arguing about?’ said Andrew, sitting on the sofa and leaning forward. He patted the seat. ‘Come and tell me what’s on your mind.’

Rose, the tingling in her limbs starting to subside, limped over and sat next to him so that she could speak low.

‘Apart from a desperate urge to kill him?’

‘Apart from that.’

Rose bit her lip. ‘Look, I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but something’s not right.

I mean even less right than the …. werewolfism, or whatever you call it.

I don’t know if it’s linked. Something Simon said about Sky - I’m assuming he’s told you about Sky - good, saves me explaining, anyway, something he said makes me think it’s linked. ’

‘What’s linked?’

‘I think he’s ageing prematurely. His hair is going grey, but neither of our parents went grey young. He has more lines, his eyesight and hearing seem to be slightly less than they should be. I might be imagining it. I hope I’m imagining it.’

Andrew sat back.

‘OK. I’ll look when I do the check up.’

‘You don’t think he’s serious about going public do you?’

‘I’m not sure. It’s a bad idea. I’m not the only one working on this. He knows that. But exposure won’t help any of us. I think he’s probably just winding you up. Rose…’

Rose realised she was shaking. With fury, with despair, she wasn’t sure.

‘Rose, have you ever seen anyone? I mean talked this through with anyone? About David especially? You seem so on edge. I’m worried about you. It’s not just Simon I care about.’

Her eyes filled and she turned away from him to look out into the garden. ‘What’s the point? It won’t bring him back.’

Simon walked in with coffee.

‘Bring who back?’

‘David,’ said Andrew. ‘I don’t know how she puts up with you, Simon. Now can we go and do the examination? Bring the coffee.’

In his room, Andrew ran Simon through his medical in silence. Simon fidgeted throughout, impatient with the eye test and insisting on monitoring his own heart rate.

‘I’d like to take some scans and x-rays,’ Andrew said, making notes as Simon dressed.

‘Why?’

‘Just want to check your bone density, and there seems to be some cartilage strain.’

‘You think I’ve got arthritis?’

‘Could be.’

‘It’s being cooped up all the time.’ Simon slammed his fist against the fake wardrobe doors then drew the curtains and glared up at the forest.

‘You’re only “cooped up” for twenty four hours every twenty-eight days,’ Andrew pointed out. ‘I checked the cage. Looks as if the sedation is doing its job.’

Simon took a breath. ‘About that,’ he said. ‘I was wondering if a lower dose would be possible, one where I could be aware of my surroundings, not knocked out cold. Where maybe I could communicate.’

Andrew leant on the chest of drawers and shook his head. ‘You can’t communicate in that state. Even your animal reflexes are abnormal.’ He paused. ‘I know why you’re asking.’

‘I just want to see Sky, communicate with her.’

‘I know. But you wouldn’t be able to. She’d be human, you’d be a wolf in a state of extreme stress, your mind would be telling you to attack everything.

Any normal instinct you’d have as animal or human would be overridden by the need to pass on the virus.

I don’t know what the virus would do to Sky. I know what it would do to Rose.’

‘I wouldn’t attack either of them.’

‘ You wouldn’t, but the virus would.’

‘Rose says that I responded to Sky, that I simply cried.’

Andrew reached out and touched Simon’s shoulder.

‘You were sedated. The sedation suppresses the worst of the affect of the virus. Your human mind and the wolf mind have some freedom to respond to stimulus. That’s all. You heard her, you were aware of her, but if you hadn’t been sedated, she would have just been a target. You can’t risk it.’

Simon finished dressing, his jaw set.

‘I’ve got an idea though,’ said Andrew. ‘You could prepare a film for the next time she comes. And Rose could film her too. I know it’s not the same. But it’s something. It’s more than Rose has got.’

‘What do you mean, it’s more than Rose has got? What’s Rose got to worry about?’

‘Apart from you acting like a sulky child? She’s still grieving, can’t you grasp that?

David is dead. David wasn’t just your best friend, he was hers too.

He was her husband. Her future, her hopes, the potential for a home of her own, for a family, all gone.

And now she’s here looking after you and keeping you protected, in the middle of nowhere, and all you can do is worry about yourself. ’

Simon grunted. ‘How come you know so much about it?’