Page 25 of Ever After

“Most locals do. It’s got a funny reputation in the village, though. Most won’t go past it after dark.”

“Why?” I ask.

“There’s talk of strange lights when the cottage is empty. They move around as if someone has a torch and they’re looking for something.” Jax leans closer, his face animated. “No one stays there. Lord St Claire can’t rent it out no matter how cheap it is.”

“I knew it,” Levi says, his tone triumphant. “What did I say? Too good to be true.”

“It’s your optimistic nature that is such a part of your charm,” I say and he punches my arm.

“Have you seen anything unusual at the cottage?” Jax asks us hopefully.

I shake my head. “Nothing,” I say firmly. “Nothing at all.”

He sags, looking a little disappointed. “Ah well, maybe you will.”

“Here’s hoping,” I say wryly.

Levi digs his finger into my ribs. “I’ve smelt pipe smoke,” he says.

“You too?” I ask without thinking.

He gives me a level glance that promises we’ll be talking later. I sigh. He’s going to fucking love when I admit to seeing the man and hearing the footsteps in the garden last night.

I give a dismissive wave of my hand. “Ghosts aren’t real. Just because people want to think they are, doesn’t make it true.” The supreme irony of me saying that tickles my fancy, and I have to work hard to keep a straight face.

Jax bristles a little. “Well, I’d say it’s a bit strange that last year a family came to stay in the cottage, but they lasted only a day and left in the middle of the night, apparently.”

“Do you know that for sure?” Levi asks.

He shrugs. “A mate told someone in the pub who told me.”

“Like a spectral party game,” I observe.

He gives me a sweet smile. “Maybe. I’m inclined to believe it, though.”

“Why?” Levi asks when Jax seems to hesitate.

“Well, I saw something.”

“You did?” Levi leans forward eagerly.

Jax brightens. I don’t blame him. Levi’s attention is a wonderful thing to have. It’s total and complete and leaves you feeling like you’re the most important person in his world.

“I was walking home from the café because my car had gone in for a service,” Jax says. “It was early evening, and I took the cliff path that runs by the side of your cottage. It was starting to rain, so I stopped to pull up my hood, and that’s when I saw it.”

“What?” Levi breathes.

“It was a man standing in the big bay window of the cottage,” Jax says. “I saw him clear as day. The last light was shining on him, and he was staring straight at me.” He shivers. “I felt cold all over and like I couldn’t move away. Like I was caught. Then the light seemed to shimmer, and when I looked again, he was gone. That was the last time I took the cliff path, and I don’t know any local people who use it either. No one wants to be close to that cottage.”

He stops talking abruptly, and I repress a smile, because he’s clearly remembering that we’re tourists who are staying there and who no doubt will be spending money in the cafe.

“But I’m sure it’s fine,” he adds hurriedly.

“It is,” I say.

Levi gives me a sidelong glance, but talk turns to other, friendlier things, and after a while, Jax leaves us.

“Ready to go home?” I ask Levi, shivering. It’s got chillier and I want a shower and then to crawl onto that big mattress with him.