Page 58 of A Thief to Die For

We walk a while until the music dims. I know I owe her an explanation. ‘So, that man …’

She waves it off. ‘You don’t have to tell me. I’ve said all along that sharing our secrets isn’t safe.’

She stares ahead as if she’s made peace with us never really knowing each other. That it’s just the way it has to be. I rake my hand through my hair.

The road forks, and we turn left, veering off the main path, already hearing the waterfall. Just past it is the access to the mine. ‘What if I don’t want to keep secrets from you? Not any more.’

Her eyes widen. She dips her head. ‘I don’t know how smart that is. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what happened back there.’

‘That man – Rufus – is my … father. And I met him for the first time today.’

We approach the edge of the lake, the same spot where Agatha and I were at earlier this afternoon. The light from our lantern barely allows us to see ten feet ahead. The waterfall crashes across the way. But the feeling of being here with Marian couldn’t be more different. There’s nowhere else I want to be as we stand side by side, staring out at the water.

‘I thought my father was dead,’ I say, continuing. ‘When I was four, there was a vagabond who attacked my fam–’ I shake my head. Laugh humourlessly. ‘Actually, no there wasn’t.’

She’s a good listener as I fumble through explaining the messed-up memories and nightmares that started the fire in me to find my father’s murderer.

But I sputter to a stop, not sure how to explain Rufus’s true motivations for trying to use my mother – that he wanted access to the connection.

She thinks I’m done and her hand brushes mine. I hook our fingers, but it’s not enough. I want to pull her to me and bury my face in her hair.

‘How devastating to think your father was dead all these years when he wasn’t,’ she says. ‘That changes everything.’

Everything. And nothing. ‘He only wants to use me. I’m better off without him. Funny thing is, if I’d known the truth, or if he’d remained in our lives, who knows if I’d have become the man I am today – an elite soldier. Him passing on honour? Integrity?’ I huff a laugh. ‘Maybe Mum’s lies and my own twisted imagination are the real heroes in all of this.’

She frowns. ‘It’s wrong. My first heartbreak … and last … was my father too. It’s not supposed to be that way.’

‘No, it’s not.’

Her head lifts. ‘You know, I hate that you’re going through this. That you understand this specific pain. Disappointment. But at the same time, there’s something comforting about knowing you get it. My sister never … I like that I’m not alone.’

I do too. And the depth of that scares me a little.

I could so easily fall in love with you.

The truth of that hits like a thunderbolt.

She squeezes my hand, noticing I’ve stiffened. ‘Hey, I’m sorry. Am I oversharing? You’re just so easy to talk to. And we have so much in comm–’

I smile as she comes back into focus. An incredible peace fills my chest. Clarity. She feels it too – this is special. ‘Marian, there’s no need to apologise. But just so we’re clear: I want to know everything about you.’

‘So where are your favourite places in Notting?’ I ask, as we wind our way around the small lake towards the waterfall. ‘You know, if I ever needed to find you in a hurry.’

She chuckles. ‘I’m rather good at not being found when I don’t want to be. But maybe the cliffs – I like the view. Or on one of my secret paths into and out of Notting.’

‘Secret paths,’ I repeat. I really need to stop being surprised by her cleverness.

We reach the rocky slope leading up to the waterfall, and each take a turn holding the lantern as we climb. She goes first, nimbly scaling the incline, even in her dress.

My thick boots slip a little on the narrow ledges, and she reaches out to pull me up the last step. I don’t give her hand back when I rise to stand at the top. But I do take the lantern.

In front of us is a cave, or pitch-black tunnel. At the entrance is a firepit – I should get it going for more light. Heat.

‘You hear that?’ she asks.

I nod. The noise from the falls is a constant low thunder, but my mind is on threats, of both the human and animal kind. I shine the light, illuminating the smooth rock walls veined in minerals. They sparkle, making the secluded, almost cosy space feel like it’s enchanted.

Marian playfully beckons me with a curl of her finger. My heart stutters at her flirtatious eyes, and I follow her, hypnotised, deeper into the cave.