‘Hmm, yes please. I need one.’

That night, in bed, Jamie moved close to Kirsty and began to kiss her face and neck, stroking the silk-soft skin of her inner thigh. He moved down beneath the quilt and kissed her breasts and tummy, gradually moving lower until his head was between her legs. He kissed her and moved his tongue in slow circles around her clitoris, an action that usually made her groan and push herself against his face. Tonight, though, she didn’t react. Something was wrong.

He tried again, pushing his tongue inside her, stroking her thighs with his palms, moving his tongue in motions that normally made her gasp. But still, she gave no reaction.

He shifted up the bed so he was lying beside her. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m not in the mood, Jamie.’

‘Oh. OK.’

She kissed him, grimacing slightly at the taste of herself on his lips. ‘I’d like to, but I can’t really relax. Listening to that CD really freaked me out. Do you know what I mean?’

‘I do.’ He sighed. ‘I still can’t believe they did it.’

‘When you started to go down on me just then I imagined that they were down there, listening, maybe even taping us. And I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t get into it.’

‘Do you think they get some kind of perverted thrill out of it?’

‘I don’t know, Jamie. But do you remember all the things they said about the couple who lived here before us? Lucy even said something about noise that day at the go-kart track. They’re obviously very sensitive to noise – more than we ever suspected. It seems crazy, though – to buy a flat when you’re obsessed with peace and quiet: obsessed enough to make recordings of your neighbours to prove your point.’ She sighed. ‘Let’s wait and see what reaction we get to our letter. Maybe we can sort this thing out.’

‘Because otherwise we’re going to have to soundproof the bedroom.’

They kissed goodnight and turned over to face their separate ways. Jamie kept his eyes open for a few minutes. His heart was beating fast. He wasn’t able to sleep until his anger had subsided.

Beside him, Kirsty entered REM sleep and began to dream. She had the dream about the gingerbread house again. She ran through the woods, saw the beautiful, tempting house and went inside. This time, the witch was absent, and Kirsty saw that the door handles were actually the most delicious-looking toffee apples. She took one and bit into it.