But – Maude clattered up and down the ladder at full speed, it seemed to be a point of pride with her. And anyway, wasn’t there something familiar about this noise? Someone moving about the house; hadn’t she heard this before?

One-two.

One-two.

Nell sat up, the bubbles sliding over her wet skin. She hugged her knees and listened.

One-two.

One-two.

Getting closer.

Silence.

She placed her hand on her chest and counted the ragged thudding of her heartbeat, one-two, one-two.

Her skin puckered into goosebumps. ‘Maude? Is that you?’

The water was cooling, and slowly, carefully, she got out of the bath, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself, her hair dripping down her neck and shoulders.

She opened the bathroom door. There was no one there.

*

No internet was such a stupid idea. She had been incredibly good about it for ages now, conspicuously obliging; but every time she mentioned to Nell that maybe they could relax, and she could have a bit more access, Nell fobbed her off with vague promises, or worse, she logged on and sat down next to her, watching all the time, reading her private stuff. Maude lay on her bunk, gripping her phone, but that was useless too, the signal had almost entirely faded away up here.

Ten minutes, like she was a baby or something.

It wasn’t fair.

She watched the shadows cast by the window frames as they shuddered gently against the ceiling and the witch marks carved into the beam.

Down in the house she heard a door close, and the soft footfall of someone coming upstairs. Nell seemed to move around the house much more slowly these days. It was as if she was ill.

Good.

Maude had two families, which was rubbish, no matter what people said. Two separate families. She had a vague suspicion that they had tried, at first, to get along, to do things together, for her sake. But the trouble was, although she tried to hide it most of the time, her mother really didn’t like Nell. And Maude had got used to it after a while, two Christmases, two birthdays; and it was OK – had been OK – until he was born. The baby. Her brother. Two families, and no room for her in Mum’s anymore.

Then she’d found out about Nell and Dad.

She felt the blood rushing in her ears, and it was as if the roof was pressing down on her, the darkened corners closing in. She sat up and swung her legs onto the floor, fighting the urge to cry; she wasn’t going to be caught blubbing when Nell finally hauled herself up the ladder. Maybe she was hurt, because there was an odd rhythm to her footsteps, uneven; as if she was limping.