‘I know, I know,’ she said. ‘We have a visitor. I’ll attend in just one moment.’

When she straightened to face us, she was holding a shoe, its companion dangling from it on a piece of tangled shoelace.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, now looking directly at me. ‘I have dreadful manners. Welcome.’

‘Thank you.’

‘One never knows how to greet a guest like you. After all, are you a guest at all? Or do I treat you like a vacuum cleaner? I suppose I did as much just now. I’m sorry.’

‘Mum,’ Rick said quietly.

‘Don’t fuss, darling. Let me get to know our new visitor in my own way.’

The shoe that had been dangling dropped into the trunk of its own weight. Miss Helen stared at it, the other shoe still in her hand. I saw Rick was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and I wanted to leave to give privacy, but Miss Helen then went on speaking to me.

‘I know who you are. Josie’s little companion. What a great success you’ve been! I’ve heard all about it from Chrissie. She comes here quite often, you know. Doesn’t she, Rick? Won’t you sit down?’

‘You’re very kind. But I feel I should be returning.’

‘Not on my account, I hope. I came down looking forward to a nice chat.’

‘Mum, Klara has responsibilities. And you’re probably still tired.’

‘I’m feeling fine, thank you, darling.’ Then to me, she said: ‘Apparently I wasn’t at my best last night. Now, Klara. I expect you’re curious about me. Chrissie says you’re curious about everything. If so, you must have noticed that I’m English. Are you equipped to identify accents? Or perhaps you can see deep into me, right through to my genetics.’

‘Mum, please.’

‘English people often came into the store,’ I said, smiling. ‘So all the AFs became familiar with your way of speaking. We thought it very pleasant and Manager, the lady who looked after us, always encouraged us to learn from it.’

‘The thought of all you robots receiving elocution lessons! How delightful!’

‘Mum…’

‘Speaking of lessons. Klara. Your name is Klara, isn’t it? Speaking of lessons, there’s an idea that’s been brewing here in this household.’

‘Mum. Definitely no. Klara isn’t interested in…’

‘Let me speak, darling. Here she is in person, so let’s seize our chance. I must say, darling, you’ve developed a tendency these days to rule the roost. It’s most irritating. Klara, are you willing to listen to our idea?’

‘Of course.’

Rick began to walk away as if to leave the room in disgust. But he stopped at the doorway, so that from where I was standing, I could see just a part of his back and the rear of his elbows.

‘I’m not party to this,’ he called out, as though to someone in the hallway.

Miss Helen smiled at me, then sat down on the sofa Rick had occupied earlier. She adjusted her light coat with one hand, her shoe still in the other.

‘Rick used to go to a school, you know. I mean a real, old-fashioned one. It was rather lawless, but he made some nice friends there. Didn’t you, dear?’

‘I’m not participating.’

‘Then why are you still hovering there like that? You do look odd, darling. Do either leave or stay.’

Rick didn’t move, keeping his back to us, his shoulder now leaning on the doorframe.

‘Well, the long and short of it is that Rick left the school to take up home tutoring like all the smarter children. But then, well, as you may already know, things grew complicated.’

Miss Helen became suddenly silent and stared past my shoulder. I thought she’d seen something through the wide window behind me, and was about to turn, when she said:

‘There’s nothing out there, Klara. I was just lost in thought. Recalling an incident. I get that way at times. Rick will tell you. I require someone to give me a little nudge when I get like that.’

‘Mum, for God’s sake…’

‘Where were we? Ah yes, so the plan was for Rick to be home-tutored by screen professors like all the other smart children. But of course, you probably know, it all became complicated. And here we are. Darling, would you like to tell the tale from here? No? Well, the long and short of it. Even though Rick was never lifted, there still remains one decent option for him. Atlas Brookings takes a small number of unlifted students. The only proper college that will still do so. They believe in the principle and thank heavens for that. Now there are only a few such places available each year, so naturally the competition is savage. But Rick is clever and if he applied himself, and perhaps received just a little expert guidance, the sort I can’t give him, he has a good chance. Oh yes you do, darling! Don’t shake your head! But the long and short of it is we can’t find screen tutors for him. They’re either members of TWE, which forbids its members to take unlifted students, or else they’re bandits demanding ridiculous fees which we of course are in no position to offer. But then we heard you’d arrived next door, and I had a marvelous idea.’

‘Mum! I mean it. We’re not going any further with this!’ Rick came back into the room, striding towards his mother as if to pick her up and carry her off.

‘Very well, darling, if you feel so strongly, we shan’t continue.’

Rick had now come right up to the sofa and was glaring down at Miss Helen. She adjusted her posture slightly so that she could go on looking at me past him.

‘Just now, Klara, when I appeared to be in a dream. It wasn’t any dream, you know. I was looking out there’ – she pointed the shoe behind me – ‘and I was recalling. Turn and look all you like, I assure you there’s nothing there just now. But once, some time ago, I was looking out there and I did see something.’

‘Mum,’ Rick said again, but now that Miss Helen had changed topic, his voice had lost urgency. He half turned to me, stepping back so he was no longer obstructing his mother’s view.

‘It was a nice day,’ Miss Helen was saying. ‘Around four in the afternoon. I called Rick and he came and he saw it too, didn’t you, dear? Though he claimed he was too late.’

‘It could have been anything,’ Rick said. ‘Anything at all.’

‘What I saw was Chrissie, Josie’s mother, that is. I saw her come out of the grass, just over there, holding someone by the arm. I’m explaining myself rather poorly. What I mean is, it was as if this other person had been trying to run away, and Chrissie had been after her. And she’d caught hold of her, but hadn’t been able quite to stop her. So they’d both of them tumbled out, so to speak. Just over there, out from the grass onto our land.’