I couldn't believe the sunny street would be the same rain-soaked and foggy community as the day before. Dr. Fawx shared a room with Shyla, and after a hearty breakfast, I started the day with a walk into the village while Alexis conducted her job. I would go for another stroll in the opposite way from the houseboats, before returning to the Crown and Castle for a break.
At the end of the street, a door opened. The exact door as the previous day, and the identical shrivelled old woman stepped out.
This time, she did not witness a burial procession. She searched for Alexis and me and showed no sign of amazement: two strangers stood almost on her doorstep. She waited behind the door, peering out through the oblique net curtains in the front window of the small house, timing her exit to coincide with our arrival.
"The stranger."
Her voice sounded high-pitched and cracked with age. She nodded her grey head with something approaching vigour.
"Indeed."
She cackled a dry laugh in return.
"Mrs. Canard. Perhaps the doctor mentioned me?"
"Only in a personal sense."
Alexis said.
I gripped the old lady's hand, and to her agreeable gratification and obvious astonishment, raised the back of one and brushed a smooch against the drier skin.
"A pleasure."
We stood in silence for a few seconds. I held the withered hand, and the old damsel stared at me as I smiled.
"At young Justin's funeral."
Mrs. Canard said, sounding like an accusation.
"Alas, a sad affair."
"Tragic."
The old widow echoed with something comparable to glee in her voice.
"I remember when his mother first came to Suffolk. Married Harry up at the church. Lovely. She wore white."
Her tone suggested, not something she approved of or thought appropriate.
Alexis took a deep breath.
"Better be getting on, otherwise be late for my home visits."
"Catch up later, back at the tavern for a meal."
"Can I ring you if I'm late."
"Sorry," I said, "I don't possess a mobile phone."
Dr Fawx looked surprised but made no comment to me.
"Cheerio, Mrs. Canard," she said.
"Bye, my dear."
Alexis strolled away to her first appointment, not paying attention to Mrs. Canard's voice creaking in the breeze.
"Always headstrong as a child."
She confided.
"I remember his dejected mother, upset with his tantrums as a toddler. Lay on the floor, he would, kicking and screaming."
She pulled her shabby coat around her and folded her arms.
"I can tell. Right from the start, I can tell how they might turn out."
I sighed with sympathy.
"Runs in the family. A run-in with his brother Gavin last night at the inn."
This did not appear as news to the old girl, who nodded in understanding.
"Ah, him -- takes after his father. He does with his fiery temper. Always ready to argue. He and his brother Justin used to fight non-stop, they did -- and now Justin's gone, Gavin won't utter a word against him. Gets touchy and worked up. Ask me -- he needs watching -- doesn't take much to turn him ugly but give him a fish to fillet. Nobody as good as him. The finest in Suffolk."
Mrs. Canard appeared confused for a moment in contemplation, and afterwards shook herself out of her reverie.
"Now. Let me think? Oh! Yes, young Justin -- not saying he behaves like his sibling, mind. Not a bad lad, but..."
"...obstinate."
I put in.
The old lady pursed her lips.
"If his mother sorted him out, he wouldn't ever bother getting his own way. Consider what came of him going off in the trawler."
"Oh?"
"The ship sank right in front of me."
"How horrible."
She nodded towards the top of the roadway, where the masts of the fishing boats in the Quay prevailed visible in the distance, poking up beside the churchyard. Seagulls wheeled and cried above us, hopeful for simple pickings.
"One minute, the little skiff approached the dock. The next instant stopped and yanked backwards. The engines whined with the strain of whatever the nets got snared on."
"Within minutes, went straight down. The men didn't stand a chance. Awful, blooming terrible."
I made myself elude from Mrs. Canard. I checked my wristwatch, tutted, made a point of looking up the road in the direction Alexis took, and got across the message. I ought to be going.
I continued holding the old lady's arthritic hand for several moments after we shook goodbye, and gazed into her sallow old eyes, thanking her for the conversation, and said how much I enjoyed her company.
With Mrs. Canard back inside her house, I reflected. Quite a while since Alexis set off, and I couldn't guess where she would be by now. We agreed to meet at the pub for lunch if we didn't run into each other before.