She put down her knife. ‘Certainly, Miss Swansome. You will need something hot in you both after being out. I can see the wind in your cheeks. They couldn’t be much redder.’

I took my time returning to Mary and when I arrived at her door, I paused. I remembered that first morning when I had imagined William racing the corridors of Iskar in a game with his sister. No such imaginings remained – instead, I saw him crouched over the boards in his room to add some gruesome trophy to his store.

From inside the playroom, there was whispering. I swallowed my unease and put my ear to the wood. I did not want to go in lest I find her again in some pursuit that I was not ready to digest. So I stood for a few moments before turning the handle. She was facing away from me. Light flooded in from the window. Bobbity swung loose from one hand, but as I grew nearer, her words seemed intense and directed and I saw her in the pane where her face was twisted with anxiety. Lifting a hand, she bit at the edge of her nail and fell silent. Then she began once again, quieter now, and I realized from the rhythm that it was as if she were talking not to herself but to someone else, and I was reminded of the day on the beach. I inched forward. My new position gave me a better view but she seemed to be in shadow even though light fell cleanly through the glass.

And then, for an instant, I saw it. I blinked, looked again and instead of looking at Mary I studied the space beside her. There, just to the left of her, was a fainter outline, a little taller in height than Mary. I dropped the gloves that I was holding and gasped. Mary lifted her gaze and whipped round. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing left my lips. She took one look at my expression, clutched Bobbity and ran past me and to her bedroom where she slammed the door, leaving me standing in the cold.

My eyes strayed to the window once more, my heart beating heavily. The glass was clear now, there was nothing there, but, by a shift in air, I felt that something other had moved to stand beside me in the quietness. In my reflection my skin paled. Then, with the faintest change in the atmosphere, it was gone.

I went into the corridor and shut the door behind me, leaning against the wall for support. Footsteps began from further away, moving closer, and soon Mrs Lenister’s cap rose above floor level as she reached the top stairs. In one hand she held a tray. Straightening my dress, I stood tall and tried to smile.

‘Are you all right, Miss Swansome?’ Her brows drew together but her face softened. ‘You look awful white.’