Charlotte is very fond of William, but she can’t imagine spending the rest of her life with him. He’s not a very exciting or interesting person, and he’s a bit straightlaced. He’s already urging her to give up the drugs and stay off the drink. But he’ll do for the time being. At least he makes her laugh and doesn’t give her too much grief. Plus, she’s already finding it pretty easy to control him.

She’s been feeling horny all morning so she insists that they have sex before she gives him a grand tour of the farm. She’s also worried that her parents might find a reason to return earlier than expected and catch them at it.

They do it on her bed and after they’re dressed, she shows him around the house and makes a point of referring to the wall beneath the stairs. She explains that it replaced the door to the cellar and tells him why it was installed.

‘My mum is a barmy old cow. She’s worried that ghosts will come up into the house. And it’s never occurred to her that if ghosts actually exist, they’re bound to be able to pass through walls.’

‘Actually, I’m sure it was my dad who installed the wall,’ William says. ‘I’ve seen the receipt for the work in the files and I seem to remember he mentioned it to me once.’

‘Well, what do you know?’ Charlotte replies, surprised. ‘Come on, let me show you what it’s like down there.’

As soon as they step into the cellar, she can see that he’s slightly in awe of it even though it’s grim and untidy.

‘This is where the couple were killed then,’ he says, his eyes stretching.

Charlotte points to the memorial stone on the small display unit.

‘That ugly thing is a shrine to them,’ she says. ‘It makes my stomach turn every time I see it, which is why I don’t often come down here. I’ve told Mum and Dad that we should get rid of it because it feels like we’re living above a cemetery, but they won’t listen.’

‘It is a bit strange and creepy,’ William says.

Charlotte pulls a face. ‘It’s just one of the strange things about this farm. Would you believe I caught my mum down here talking to herself the other day? Proper weird, because she hates the place more than I do. And Dad only stores things that he rarely uses.’

William moves closer to the memorial stone and reads the inscription.

‘I wonder what really happened to the Roths and their baby,’ he says. ‘My dad has always said that he never believed the husband killed the wife and then himself.’