It was midsummer's day and very, very hot. The tarmac on the main street of the little town was beginning to blister, and the sun glanced off the glass shop fronts with a dazzling light. Felicity and Clarissa, cousins and neither in their first youth, were sticky and tired. They had been on their feet for hours, it seemed to them, and they had an hour or two to wait before the tour bus picked them up. At the end of the street stood the cathedral, surrounded by the green lawn of the close - though the grass had a brownish tinge after the long hot spell. "Let's go into the cathedral," said Felicity. "It will be cooler there and I simply must sit down for a bit."

The massive oak north door was heavy to push, and once inside after the dazzling sunlight, they could see nothing for a moment or two. It was so cool and quiet. Thankfully the women sank onto chairs. They could look down the length of the nave, past the choir to the high altar; the sun blazing through the stained glass windows created a jewel-like coloration. It was so quiet, so restful. They sat quietly for some minutes, resting.

"We should really look around and explore a bit," said Felicity. "I expect there are some guidebooks. I'll go and investigate." As she spoke, a tall figure, robed in a black cassock, approached from the centre aisle.

"Ah, ladies, I see you are enjoying the quiet and beauty of this holy building. Might I have the honour of showing you some of the cathedral's treasures? I am the Dean, and this is my world." He bent his kindly face towards them as he spoke and held out his hand to help Clarissa rise.

"We would love that," she said, and the tour began.

They saw old tombs, carvings, paintings, priceless gold and silver vessels, ancient missals - each treasure had a history, well-known to their courtly guide who led them from one wonder to another. They forgot their fatigue, being fascinated by what they saw and heard. As he led them back up the nave and they were thanking him for his kindness, he stopped and looked at them. "I hope I have not tired you too much. Would you perhaps do me the honour to come to my house for some refreshment? I will go on ahead and tell my wife to prepare for guests. Perhaps you will join me in about ten minutes. Just go through that door in the wall and you will see the Deanery, a white house across the lawn. You cannot mistake it." And he moved to the small door, opened it and passed through, shutting it behind him.

"I wonder why he was so kind and thoughtful," said Clarissa. "I didn't know Deans acted as guides. They are busy people."

They sat again for some minutes, then moved across the aisle to the door. It was locked. "That's strange," said Felicity, "we saw him open it and go out. It wasn't locked."

At that moment, the verger came up to them. "I'm sorry, madam, you can't use that door. It's kept locked - security, you know."

"But the Dean has just gone out that way-ten minutes ago." The verger looked at the women. "The Dean, ma'am? He's away for a week."

"But he said he was the Dean. A tall man, white hair - very kind."

"No, ma'am, that's not what the Dean looks like; he's short, dark hair."

"Well, it's very odd; he asked us to the Deanery to have some refreshment."

The verger looked at them. "Too much sun," he thought. "It is a scorcher, enough to give anybody sunstroke_no point arguing with the old girls."

He shepherded them to the door through which they had entered. "There's a nice little teashop just around the corner, ladies. I can highly recommend it." And he closed the heavy door behind them. The sun blinded them as they passed from the cool, dim interior of the cathedral into the world outside.

"What had we better do?" asked Clarissa.

"I think we should go and look at the Deanery; perhaps he is an ex-Dean who lives with the present one. It's all peculiar."

They walked down the path by the north wall until they came to the little door. There was a house opposite, but it wasn't white, and it looked modern. "There would be no harm going over and finding out if that is the Deanery," said Felicity. "Perhaps he forgot the colour of the house, and if he's waiting for us, it would be very rude if we didn't accept his invitation."

The two crossed the bit of green, went up the steps and rang the bell. A tall woman in a nurse's uniform opened the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you," said Felicity, "but we're looking for the Deanery and thought this might be it."

"Well, the Deanery used to be here but there was a fire some years back and the then-Dean moved to another house in the close. This was re-built as a home for Alzheimer patients. You'll find the present Dean's house on the other side of the cathedral."

The cousins thanked the nurse and hesitated at the bottom of the steps. "Do you think our Dean is one of the patients?" asked Clarissa. "But how did he go through the locked door? He must have had a key."

Felicity thought a minute. "No, I don't think he could be a patient. He wouldn't have been dressed like that. I think, Clarissa, that for a few minutes we went back in time and for some reason we were caught in a pocket of memory which coincided with our Dean's appearance. I don't understand it, but it was wonderful, and I don't want a logical explanation - if there is one. Let's go and have a cup of tea."