Even then, miles upon miles of forest lay available to them, just to their right. He knew all too well how easy it was to lose oneself in there. Though he generally felt ill-equipped to read children, he could tell by the set of their shoulders, the fact their gaze never wandered, and how they leaned into the incline of the track, that their intentions were set in stone. They didn’t utter a word the whole time.

Just where had this foreboding come from? I had not sensed it in Christophor when he interviewed the Eder staff. He had spent most of an evening in the house, some of which was in the company of Mrs Eder herself. Was it a growing apprehension that he was in fact correct in his suspicions? Or, was he coming to realise his error? Could it be that my efforts were having such an effect?

These were not his thoughts, though he was equally distracted. There was something in that night, there in the relative quiet that was only broken by the sound of their shoes against the rough track. No sound came from the forest. There was no breeze to disturb the branches or encourage their leaves earthward.

He noticed Julia first. She had stopped and turned to him and was taking his measure. He was breathing heavily while they could have been made of wood. He felt oddly self-conscious under her gaze. Her straight blonde hair framed her face in such a severe way; she had the air of a girl already aware of the extent of her jurisdiction, of her powers. He doubted Julia Eder would ever over-play her hand, ever misjudge a situation, or ever be denied that which she really desired. But those things, her open, guileless face seemed to suggest, would be few in number.

‘Well?’ Christophor said, surprised by the dryness of his voice.

Victor sighed at his sister. ‘He’s the King’s Special Inspector, Julia!’

‘Exactly,’ she said.

‘He already knows what we’re about.’

Christophor wasn’t used to being discussed as if he weren’t present. He didn’t quite know how to respond.

‘He mustn’t see where we put it,’ she said.

‘Just what do you—’

‘Agreed,’ Victor said. ‘But I will share our findings, Julia, if they prove pertinent.’

The girl gave that considerable thought, before nodding. She turned and continued on towards their home.

‘You must forgive my sister,’ Victor said softly. ‘Since Olesca appeared from the forest, she has developed a distrust of outsiders.’

‘Has he ever hurt either of you?’

‘Nothing so crude as that, Inspector, no. He simply changes those around him. Our parents, our siblings, even the staff.’

‘But not you or your sister?’ Christophor said.

‘We’re just children to him, below his interest.’

‘And what are his interests?’

‘A new beginning,’ Victor said, but before he would elaborate he hurried to catch up with Julia.

The Eder household came out of the clear night, monolithic in its defiance of forest and sky alike: trees wilfully kept at bay, stars extinguished simply by its existence. It was lit at the front only by the moon. The side that could be seen from the track offered the glow of a single candle on the ground floor. To Christophor it slumbered malevolently, huge and malignant, high on the valley-side and overlooking its town. Its town. That was the direction of feeling, and it lay behind the sense of darkness that emanated from the building: ownership.