We make our way along the passage, turning several corners. It’s labyrinthine and far too dark and who knows if we’ll find our way back out again. I start to panic at the thought of being trapped in here, but Liam thankfully doesn’t go too far before he finds another doorway. He leans on it and we burst back out into the study. I gasp with relief.

‘Let’s go,’ I whisper, fighting back tears. ‘He’s not here.’

‘He must be here,’ Liam answers, through gritted teeth. ‘Let’s try upstairs.’

‘How?’ I plead. ‘The stairs are broken. There’s no way anyone could …’ But Liam is already striding back into the great hall towards the staircase. ‘You can’t go up there.’ I scurry after him. ‘What if you fall? What if …?’ I trail off, knowing he won’t listen and, indeed, he’s already started up them.

He stops at the first gap; a large hole stretches out in front of him and he would need to jump several feet to make it to the other side. But before I can say anything, he makes the leap. My hands fly to my mouth as a piece of masonry crumbles away and joins the pile of rubble at the bottom.

I’m torn between staying where I am at the foot of the stairs and following Liam, but there’s no way I’m jumping that distance, so all I can do is watch on tenterhooks. Liam keeps going, gingerly creeping to the edge of the stairs until he reaches the next gap. This one is bigger. I watch him contemplate it. The drop is substantial, some thirty feet to the ground below. He eyes the four feet of empty space that he’d need to clear and then prepares to jump, crouching low and putting his weight on his front foot.

A sudden banging makes him pause just as he’s about to go. ‘What was that?’ he asks, turning to me.

I shake my head in confusion, looking around.

‘Where was it coming from?’

I point toward the back of the great hall. ‘I think from over there.’

Liam turns and hurries back down the stairs, launching himself over the gap at a pace in his haste to get to me.

‘Where?’ he asks when he reaches my side.

I gesture towards the pile of debris at the back of the hall. ‘Over there, somewhere, I think.’

He frowns and for a moment there’s silence. But then we both hear a scuffling sound, followed by a loud thud. It sounds like someone trying to break their way out of a room or knock down a door. Liam puts his finger to his lips to tell me to stay silent – not that I need the reminder – and then he tiptoes towards the noise.