‘But I can’t have. It’s my fault that my mum died.’

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Bertie said. ‘It’s because you are attuned to other’s feelings – their fear, their hopes, their destinies – that you blamed yourself.’

‘Even if that’s true, I’ve done nothing to deserve her coming back … I want her back, of course I do. But I can’t believe anything I did deserves such a miracle.’

Bertie smiled. ‘And there, my dear Louisa, is the reason that Hill House chose you. You can’t even see that you have deserved this reward. That you have earned it through your selfless sacrifice.’

There was a moment of silence before Will placed his hand on his great-grandfather’s shoulder. ‘Do you want me to explain?’

Bertie shook his head. He opened his mouth but closed it before uttering a word. When he spoke, his voice cracked. ‘None of the Hill House men that went to The Great War came home again. Not my own dear father and not …’

‘Tom?’ Lou said. Amongst the bombardment of information, she had allowed herself to believe there was a flicker of hope. Tom may not have married Emma, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t married at all. It didn’t mean he had gone to France. She had failed to put two and two together and come up with the reality staring her in the face; if Edward had become the baronet, it was because Tom had no longer been alive.

Lou’s legs gave way. Will stepped forward and caught her.

‘He should have married Emma,’ Lou said.

‘No, Lou,’ Will said. ‘He shouldn’t. That’s what you told yourself.’

‘It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.’

Bertie reached and took her hand again. ‘Some people have a destiny so important that it cannot be altered. Mourn for the man you lost, Miss Louisa, but never, never, mourn for the man he was. Louisa … Louisa … Please listen to me. There’s a parcel in Captain Mandeville’s room for you. Miss Charlotte and my mother placed it in his desk. Everyone in this household has been under strict instructions that the desk should never be unlocked by anyone other than Miss Louisa Arnold. With each passing year, nobody expected you to return. Except for me and now William.’

‘What is it? I can’t take any more surprises.’

‘We don’t know,’ Will said. ‘Charlotte and Albert’s mother, Sally, refused to tell anyone.’

‘My mother would only say that there was something in Captain Mandeville’s effects sent back from France that was for you and you alone.’

Gently releasing his hold on her, Will pulled a key from the pocket of his jacket. He pressed it into her hand. ‘It’s the key to Captain Mandeville’s desk,’ he said. ‘You’ll find his room already unlocked for you.’

‘I can’t,’ Lou said, staring at the key crossing her palm.

‘Nobody will notice if you go upstairs now.’

‘Go on,’ Bertie said. ‘You know you must. You know he wants you to.’