She doesn’t blame her mad mother for believing it to be haunted. She’s heard plenty of strange noises herself, especially at night. Her dad insists that it’s to be expected in an old farm building that is constantly being battered by the elements. And she knows he’s right. But that doesn’t stop her imagination from running riot at times.

She still can’t forget the nightmare she had after she read about Simon and Amanda Roth and what happened to them and their baby nearly twenty years ago.

It began with her walking into the cellar to fetch a tin of paint for her father. But then she heard a baby crying. It was coming from beyond the door at the top of the steps that leads to nowhere.

She went and pulled the door open and there was tiny Megan, lying on the floor, naked and covered in blood. And she was still crying even though it was clear that she was already dead.

That was the first and only time that Charlotte has ever woken up screaming in the middle of the night.

And she hopes it will never happen again.

She’s only ever told one person about the baby nightmare, and that’s William Nash, or Mr Fixit as she likes to call him. They weren’t an item then, but they were friends and tended to confide in each other.

It was inevitable that he would eventually summon up the courage to ask her out. For years he had made it obvious that he was besotted with her. But he was always too shy and scared that she’d turn him down.

However, a month ago he invited her to lunch in one of the pubs in Kirkby Abbey, and while there he’d made it known how he felt. She suddenly saw him in a new light. He’d matured and came across as a lot less geeky. So, when he went to kiss her afterwards, she let him.

They’d had sex four times since then. Twice at his house when his parents were away. Once in his van. And once in a field. Today will be his first visit to Oaktree Farm, even though their families have known each other for some time.

Charlotte has always been reluctant to entertain her friends here, partly because her mum invariably goes out of her way to make them feel unwelcome. She doesn’t like visitors even though she won’t admit it. It’s as if she’s ashamed of the place and doesn’t want others to know how eerie and unpleasant it is.

William rolls up in his van at just after one o’clock. He’s taken over the Mr Fixit business from his father who has recently retired and plans to move to Spain soon with his wife. It means William’s now his own boss and can skive off whenever he wants to.