And just as soon as she was gone Inteachán came back.

Mac heard her coming up the stairs to her flat.

‘And so you’re here again,’ he said as she opened the door.

‘I am,’ said Inteachán, ‘I’m back from I don’t know where.’

Inteachán could see that Mac was upset.

‘What did I miss?’ she asked tenderly.

‘Oh,’ replied the elderly professor, ‘only almost everything.’