‘Something terrible happened in the forest. He may or he may not have witnessed his friend being attacked by a bear. He may or may not have seen Edith. As for the rest, no, I don’t believe a word. At the heart of his illness isn’t Edith or magical powers but the fact that he lied. And that lie is what is making him ill.’

‘She was wearing a hat of fur and feathers,’ said the mayor. ‘She wasn’t of this world.’

‘Poppycock,’ said Georgeta and she reached for another potato.

The cobbler had insisted that Vanda stayed at home that Easter Sunday morning. He didn’t want his wife upset by her father, not now she was expecting their child. And Una was refusing to have anything to do with her.

‘A baby?’ she’d said when Vanda told her she was pregnant. ‘At your age? I would have thought you were past all that.’

‘I don’t believe it,’ said Vanda when the cobbler told her Edith’s ghost had returned to the village. ‘I’ll go and see her.’

‘I’m not sure…’ said the cobbler.

‘Hasn’t it occurred to you that my father won’t want anyone to see Edith because she got the better of him, and might do so again? If I know him, he will be plotting some way to harm her, just as he’s harmed Misha and the cabinet maker.’

He looked up at Vanda as she stood then bent to kiss him. The newness of their relationship made him feel young again. He had been stepfather to Misha, but this was his own child, born out of love, not hate. And they were still young, perhaps there would be more.

‘You’re right,’ said the cobbler.

It was Misha who was the first to see Edith.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Hope Box

There was a knock on the door and fearing another demon – or worse still, the butcher – the cabinet maker tightened his grip on the plum brandy.

‘If you’re a demon, go away,’ he said and screwed up his face, dreading the sound of the butcher’s voice.

But it was Misha who said, ‘Can I come in?’ Still clutching the bottle, the cabinet maker nervously opened the door. ‘Where’s Edith?’ asked Misha.

‘Dead,’ said the cabinet maker. ‘But there’s a demon who looks like her – in there.’ He pointed to Edith’s bedroom. ‘A demon,’ he whispered, ‘who can conjure up plum brandy.’ He gazed at Misha’s bulging pockets with interest. ‘What have you there? Wine?’

‘Yes, and bread and cheese,’ said Misha and put them on the table.

The cabinet maker looked round and was shocked to see his daughter.

‘Edith! What have you done with the demon?’ he asked her.