At this, Lucie spoke for the first time. “You’re using your stage voice, love,” she said sensibly, patting Ian’s hand. “It never works on Jamie. But,” she added, this time to Jamie, “I reckon we should hear Ian out. You know he has a knack for this sort of thing. If he says she’s a witch, he’s probably right.”

“See?” said Ian, looking rather pleased with himself. “She’d be perfect!”

“Ian!” Jamie was incredulous. “Even if she’s a witch, her face is all over the fucking internet! The risk—”

Rolling his eyes so dramatically that they practically vanished into the back of his head, Ian said, “She has fourteen thousand followers. I’m more famous than that and you don’t seem to mind me being here. Of course,” he added quickly, lest Jamie take the opportunity to inform him otherwise, “we’ll make it clear that if she does come to stay, neither Nowhere House nor the girls are to appear in her footage in any way.”

“And what makes you think this woodland sprite will even want to be involved?”

“We won’t know until we ask.”

Lucie stood, obviously fed up. “A vote is the only way to settle this,” she said.

Ian shrugged. “Then we’ll need my husband, won’t we?”

“Ken must have gotten the girls to bed by now,” said Lucie. “I’ll fetch him.”

“I get the tiebreaker,” Jamie reminded them.

“Which is only useful if there’s a tie, dear,” said Ian.

The library door clattered shut as Lucie left. Gritting his teeth, Jamie stormed up and down the rows of old wooden shelves, putting books back where they belonged. The library at Nowhere House had been built as an extension to the main house fifty or so years ago and it was beautiful, with big windows and a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor, and crammed full of books, manuscripts, and globes. On one side, the windows looked out at the sea below the dunes, and on the other, you could see the trees, swing set, and lavender in the front garden.

It was easily Jamie’s favourite place in the world, but just at that moment, he couldn’t appreciate it. He was too busy picturing all their secrets coming unburied and all their lives coming undone.

When he returned to the front of the library, Ian was exactly where he’d left him, watching the video again.

“I wish you could see what I see,” Ian said a little wistfully. “There’s so much magic around her, it’s like she’s on fire. Like the girls.”

Jamie loved Ian dearly, but Christ, it was like the man had wandered straight out of a book of poetry and no one had had the good sense to send him back in.