Page 97 of Ever After

“I mean, usually I wouldn’t have been able to see Branok, Xander, Boynton, or even the zombies.”

“Faux zombies.” I bite my lip, thinking it over. “I think you see Branok, Xander, and the vicar because they’ve willed it to be so.”

“But what about the zombies and the hangman?”

“Maybe that’s because of the connection you had with Reverend Richard.”

He blanches. “Don’t call that a connection.”

“Levi, he was in your head. I don’t know what else to call it. Home invasion?”

He snorts and shoves me, and I grab his hand and squeeze it. “You wear the amulet now which means he can’t go there again,” I say steadily. “Levi, look at me.” He obeys and I stare into his warm brown eyes, willing him to get this. “He cannot get back in.” I tap the stone rose on his necklace. “This stops him. I bite my lip. “I think that Boynton’s power and ability to control those creatures and show us things like the hangman in the woods rests in his connection to this area. Spirits can move around, but their powers don’t usually extend beyond the areas they knew in life.”

Hope lights up his face. “Do you really think so?”

I nod. “I’ve never heard of him before and Tom’s never mentioned him. If Boynton’s power was so far-reaching he’d be famous in our world. I won’t let him come near you again,” I add firmly. “I don’t know how I’ll manage it, but I’ve achieved far more with worse odds just with you at my side. And now we have Branok and Xander too.” I kiss him again. “Okay now?”

He nods, his face clear of worry. “You always know what to say.”

“That’s so patently ridiculous you should get your head checked.”

He laughs and we climb out of the car. The wind is fresh and cold, grabbing at our jackets and blowing our hair about. When I look over the low wall, the sea is a jade green moving to black where it churns on the rocks.

Outside the house a lady is standing surrounded by a small group of people. Most of them seem to be pensioners, and they’re talking amongst themselves.

“That must be Laura, the guide,” Levi says, following my gaze. “I booked online this morning, and she said to meet here.”

I follow him over the gravel and Laura looks up at the sound. She’s in her mid-forties with a sleek brown bob. “Would you be Mr Billings and Mr Black?”

“We are,” Levi says as we come up next to her. “But please call us Levi and Blue.”

Her keen glance takes in the way we’re standing close and holding hands and she offers us a nice smile. “Perfect. I think you’re the last ones. Shall we get started?”

We fall in at the back of the group, and I edge close to Levi. “Why are you frowning?”

“I just realised that I have no idea how to actually get to the private apartments from the public areas.”

I shrug. “There’s bound to be a sign somewhere saying, ‘no admittance beyond here’. There’s always a sign like that.”

“I can’t believe you ever paid attention to those signs.”

I snort. “Of course I did. That’s always where the good stuff is kept.”

The hall’s public areas are stunning, with vaulted ceilings and huge mullioned windows looking out on the sea.

We follow Laura and her merry band of pensioners through seemingly endless rooms filled with ornate furniture and paintings of very serious people, the group relaxing gradually and starting to ask questions.

We’re standing in the dining room admiring a very delicate-looking tea set when Levi stirs and interrupts Laura’s monologue on historical tea drinking practices. “I’ve been reading a little about the sixth Lord St Claire. Xander, was it?”

Laura looks at him, surprised. “Oh, you mean Lysander. He was known as Xander to his family and friends. It must have been a fairly quick read. He had a rather short tenure in the position—only a year.”

Levi nods. “I couldn’t find out how he died.”

She taps her lips. “I believe he was the lord who died from a fever.” She nods. “Yes, that was him. He used to favour long walks along the coast and got wet one day. He caught an ague that finished him off very quickly. He was succeeded by his nephew through which the current branch of the family runs. The lord today is one of their descendants. I wasn’t aware there were any books on Lysander.”

“Oh, it was a diary,” Levi says and stops short.

Laura’s eyes widen. “A diary? His diary? I’ve never heard of that. The only thing we have with his handwriting is on display in the Long Gallery. It’s an old supper menu and he offers a wry bit of social commentary on the guests that’s also completely scurrilous. It was accompanied by some rather rude sketches that were done by another hand.”