‘We should be cautious,’ Yori warned, as Jack and Akiko approached the small wooden door that led to the attic room. The narrow corridor was gloomy and threaded with spider’s webs, suggesting no one had come this way for quite some time. It had taken a good deal of exploration just to find the right room. The manor house was a warren of corridors, staircases and chambers. Jack had had to return to the courtyard twice to gauge which window he’d seen Jess’s face in and work out from that which part of the building to search next. Rose and Signor Horatio had elected to stay at the foot of the main staircase as lookouts, in case they needed to make a quick exit.

Jack’s hand hesitated on the latch. ‘You’re right,’ he said, drawing his rapier. ‘Sir Toby could be here too.’

‘It’s not Sir Toby I’m worried about,’ Yori replied, a slight tremor in his voice. ‘It’s the ghost. Yūrei often haunt this world to exact revenge, and will not rest until they have done so.’

‘There’s nothing to fear,’ said Akiko kindly. ‘We’re not in Japan.’

Yori’s eyes grew wide in the gloom. ‘Ghosts are ghosts wherever they are! Yūrei can never be destroyed. Desire is the key to such malevolent spirits – they want something. This is what drives them, gives them purpose. They may just want to pass on a message to a loved one … or tear their victims apart in revenge for their own murder! But whatever they want, it’s best not to seek such ghosts out.’

Ghosts or not, Jack had to know one way or another whether his sister was there. He tried the latch. It was stiff but gave way under a little effort. The door creaked slowly open to reveal a surprisingly small and drab room. The floorboards were bare, an old writing table stood by the window and there was a disused fireplace in the far corner. The timber-beamed walls were crumbling where the damp had eaten into the brickwork and the musty smell of mildew hung in the chill air.

‘Jess …?’ asked Jack tentatively, almost fearfully.

There was no reply.

Jack stepped inside, the floorboards groaning underfoot. For a moment he thought he could hear whispering, but, when he listened hard, all was quiet. Akiko joined him in the room.

Yori peeked in, keeping to the threshold. ‘Do you see anyone or … anything?’

Jack shook his head in dismay and sheathed his sword. ‘The room’s empty.’ His heart felt equally empty. His expectation at finding Jess shrank to disappointment.

Akiko ran a finger through the sheen of dust on the table. ‘It looks like it’s been empty for a while.’