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done en route .”  He said these words to Engel as though he both hoped this would exclude Elsa and impress the doctor with the urgent nature of his mission.  “He must be able to control himself.  He must be able to communicate.”
         Doctor Engel looked at Elsa.  “She is available through June,” he said, though Elsa was not available at all.  She frowned a little at him, trying to figure out what he meant.  He dipped his head slowly, and repeated, “She is available from now through June, Mr. Marshall.”  Elsa would never argue with him in front of a guest.  She tried to form her expression into one of professional interest.
         Marshall looked at her now, too, though his expression was not masked at all.  He clearly had serious doubts.  Elsa deduced that he had already taken Lord Sonnenby to several psychologists both in Britain and on the Continent.   All must have rejected him.  Time was running out. He was desperate.  He could not delay the trip.  He would not tell the Foreign Office he had failed.  He was caught.
         He did not answer, but he turned to the two orderlies.  “Place Lord Sonnenby in the car.”  To Doctor Engel he said, “Have her at the train station Monday morning with travel kit for two months.”  He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.  “Dress for warm weather.”  Under his breath she heard him murmur, “God help me.”
     
    Elsa waited silently until the guests had departed.  When she heard Magda close the front door she turned to Doctor Engel.
         “Doctor.  You know very well I am currently preparing for the conference this summer.  I cannot take on a patient, let along travel.  How could you make promises for me?”
         Doctor Engel sat down on the sofa where the patient had been.  He tapped the thick file on his knee.  “There are conferences every quarter.  An opportunity like this one does not arrive at my front door every season.  This is better.”  He pressed a finger into the file.  “This opportunity will make your career, Elsa.”
         Her face must have betrayed her doubt, for he made himself comfortable as if the discussion would continue long into the afternoon.  She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I have every credential necessary already, doctor.  I have prepared an intricate report on our work with the veterans.  I have discovered aspects of their care that are more effective than mere talk therapy.  I have made a career with this paper.”  She made a vague gesture toward her office in the next room.
         Doctor Engel gave her a pained expression.  “I have always admired your confidence, Elsa.  I have not told you everything I know about the meetings I have been attending.  You are aware of the impediments to your doctorate.  I am sure your dissertation is excellent, but sometimes excellence is not enough.”  He pressed his lips together.  “The rhetoric I must endure at these meetings makes me reach for the stomach powders when I return to the peace in this house.”
         Elsa relaxed her arms.  The doctor did often return late after these meetings dragging his feet.  She would hear him go to the infirmary and open the cabinet doors where the medicines were locked up.  She inhaled deeply, ready for a retort about sexism and psychology but he raised a hand to stop her.
        “I have skimmed the notes here in Sonnenby’s file.  This is an extraordinary opportunity.  I would not hesitate to take on Henry Sinclair and his problems except that as an older man I represent everything that troubles him.  Also, I cannot travel without breaking engagements I am professionally bound to honor.”
         Elsa felt her throat tighten.  “Are you saying that there is talk that I might be refused?”
         Doctor Engel gave her only a quick nod but his eyes were kind.  “They think you are too young to understand the complexities of the human