He stopped abruptly in his walk, and his face became stern and set. “Did Hughes⁠—has anyone⁠—” He felt some difficulty in framing the question that was in his mind. “Have you been badly treated?”

“Not physically. There have been hints⁠—threats.” She pulled herself to a sitting posture and spread an arm in an expressive gesture. “I have been on the edge of terror and despair for days. Oh, it was worse than anything that you can imagine.”

He came and sat down on the grass beside her. She made no resistance when he caught one of her hands in his own. “Not altogether,” he said. “I think that I can realise something of what you have gone through. Now I want you to tell me⁠—not, if you will allow me to say so, as a police official but as a friend⁠—what has happened since you were taken away from London.”

“As a friend,” she repeated.