Dorcas reached the barn and paused momentarily on the doorstep. Many a time in her childhood had her mother, puffing up behind her as in her eagerness she reached a destination, placed a hand on her shoulder as she was about to catapult through the door, saying ‘Dorcas, stop! Recollect yourself! Stop and think! We are the Quiet Way, not The Mighty Rushing Kindred of the East Wind on a Stormy Night in October! On first entering a place, your greeting should be “Peace to this house” – and there is no need for words, your demeanour and conduct can say it just as well. Enter quietly. Arrive in peace, and bring peace in with you.’

So now, the habit of years asserted itself. Dorcas paused, breathed in, breathed out, opened the door quietly – and went in.