‘I’m fine, thank you, Mrs Lenister.’

‘A hot drink will set you both up on this chill day. Is Mary in the playroom?’

‘Bedroom.’

‘Go and sit by the fire. For a minute it looked as though you’d seen a ghost.’

Something must have faltered in my expression and her eyes narrowed a fraction. She followed me into Mary’s room where Mary lay upon the bed. Mrs Lenister did not comment but placed the tray on the table and prepared to leave. My feelings stuck in my throat and on impulse I went after her, catching her as she was about to descend the stairs.

‘Mrs Lenister.’

She turned questioningly.

‘Ghosts,’ I said. ‘Have you ever … has …’ I did not know how to finish.

A flush rose on her skin and she held herself a little higher. ‘This is not something of which you should talk, Miss Swansome.’

‘So, nobody has ever experienced or spoken of anything here?’ I pressed.

Her eyes shifted. ‘If you’ll forgive me giving you a piece of advice, you’re young and still new to Iskar and the island.’ She leaned in closer. ‘And if you know what is good for you, do not speak of ghosts in this house.’ Her expression was stern. But there was something more than a warning in her voice. There was fear.

I could not be silent. ‘Mrs Lenister, why would it be better if I were not to talk of ghosts here? What is it that I feel all the time at Iskar? I can tell by your own face I am not alone.’

She stopped then and turned fully to me. Her pupils were black. ‘Do you need to ask? We’ve all watched Mary, Miss Swansome. We’ve all seen it as I know you have. She will not speak to us but she does speak, doesn’t she?’

My skin grew icy.

‘Who do you think she is talking to?’ she said.

I shivered, recalled the sound of the engine across the floorboards. William, Mary had written in the sand. William. I opened my mouth to speak but my tongue would not move.

‘Miss Gillies witnesses it too. People say terrible things about Iskar and they whisper about Mary. We all guess who she thinks she speaks to, who she thinks she sees. Have you noticed the way her eyes sometimes wander to some space where there is nobody there and the recognition in them?’

I had.

‘That language she uses when she talks, that was the way they talked to each other when he was alive. None of us could make it out even then. And why did they need to use one that none of us could understand?’

I felt sick.