Releasing a loud and frustrated groan, I dropped down onto my knees and began scooping up the assorted bills, receipts, and correspondence.

As I slapped them back in the drawer, I noticed the letters and bills were all addressed to a Mr & Mrs F Talbot.

My thoughts screeched to a halt.

Talbot. That was the name April from the council mentioned as the owners of Merry Wood.

I rifled through a couple more papers, snatching quick glances at who they were addressed to. Sure enough, the other pieces of correspondence were addressed to a Mr Flynn Talbot. Most of them seemed to be utility bills and gardening invoices from years ago.

I continued to put the papers back, groaning under my breath. I had to speak to Lily again and time was racing.

From the garden, I could hear the plummy vocals of Esther Drew and the sound of Baz packing up his photographic equipment. Then it would be back to the offices of Goddess to write up the feature about Avanti’s “stunning shades of the latest eye colours. Opt for vanillas and greys that will make your natural beauty sing this festive season.”

I was plopping the last few documents back into the drawer and was preparing to pick it up from the floor to slot it back into the bureau when a long, slim white envelope caught my eye. It must have skittered further across the carpet.

I angled the drawer back into place and once it was as secure as I could manage, I retrieved the stray envelope. Lily was written in swirling black fountain pen on the front of it.

I turned it over. It wasn’t sealed, as I would have expected. Did Lily know there was a letter in that drawer addressed to her? Had she read it?

I would return it to her. Whether she had seen it or not, it would be a good excuse to go to her house and hand it over in person. It would give me the opportunity to try and talk to her again about what had just happened and apologise properly.

I was about to stick it into my back jeans pocket when Baz’s irritated voice from the garden made me jump. “Leonie. What the hell are you doing? Stop arsing around in the haunted house, will you? I need to get going.”

The letter to Lily slid from the envelope and I just managed to capture it in my flustered fingers. “Ok! Sorry. On my way, Baz.”

The writing paper smelled of lavender and had partially unfolded in my hands.

I knew I shouldn’t read it. It wasn’t mine to read. But the artful handwriting and its opening sentences captured my attention.

And so, I stood there, in the hallway of Merry Wood, and found myself transfixed by this letter.

Chapter Sixteen

13 March 1973