He looked to me and I nodded that he should go and answer it. He left the room, closing the door behind him and I listened as I heard him answer the front door. There were voices, and I was sure that one of them was Utterson's.

A moment later Poole re-entered the room, not from the door he had exited, but from the door which leads from the corridor to the kitchen. He must have left the guest in the main hall, and headed for the back of the house, then doubled back to find me here so as not to alert the visitor to my location. Faithful as ever.

Then he confirmed my supposition. 'It is Mister Utterson, sir. He wishes to see you if you are available.'

For a moment I considered seeing him, but the questions that he would have for me would be more than I was willing to cope with at this late hour, so I instructed Poole to tell him that I had gone out.

'Should I give him your dinner invitation, sir? Save a trip in the morning, it would.'

'No, Poole. Say nothing. It would be better delivered separately. Maybe not even tomorrow, but on Wednesday or Thursday. For now, tell him I am not in and send him on his way. If he asks about my colleague Mister Hyde, tell him the truth but venture nothing.'

Again the nod, and Poole left the way he had come in.