The evening continued in an atmosphere of unease, not helped by the tasteless stew and hard scones prepared by Mrs Brodie. The smell of oil hung in air already smoky from peat fires. I played a game listlessly with Mary, but exhaustion made me yawn often. Mary went to bed and I came back downstairs.

‘We shall miss Mrs Lenister and Greer,’ Miss Gillies said. ‘It is when they are not here that you realize how much they do and with so little fuss.’

But all I could think of was how much cleaner the atmosphere was without Greer’s influence. Until then I had not fully grasped how oppressive her presence had become to me.

‘Miss Gillies,’ I said, ‘something has been bothering me.’

She looked up in surprise.

‘Greer is not as courteous as I would have expected.’

Miss Gillies sighed. ‘Don’t mind Greer. She wanted your job.’ She sipped at her coffee and grimaced, putting it down. ‘Awful coffee. I expect she holds some jealousy for you and your position here, but you must be used to servants; surely Greer’s manner does not concern you?’

‘Not a great deal,’ I lied. ‘I wondered if she took out her jealousies on Hettie as well, whether that was part of the reason Hettie left as she did.’

‘You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?’

‘No, I intend to stay.’

‘You have that wrong, Elspeth.’ She paused. ‘Greer and Hettie were friends. Best of friends.’

I had not expected that. I had assumed that, like me, Hettie was disliked. There was no definite reason, I realized now, to have made such an assumption.

‘Had they been friends since Hettie came to Skelthsea?’ I asked.

She shrugged. ‘I suppose they might have been. It was only when Hettie lived here that their intimacy was so apparent.’

The idea unnerved me but made strange sense. It made me more suspicious that Greer shared Hettie’s beliefs. And if that were not the case, and Greer did not practise witchcraft, how could a friendship be justified between one who had gone so bad and one who had not? And how could Miss Gillies remain so undisturbed by such knowledge?

Miss Gillies stood then glanced in the mirror and her jaw tightened as if she was witnessing her scar for the very first time. From the decanter, she poured two large whiskies. I noticed the worn patches on her dress and loose threads at her wrists.

‘Did you ever think of living away from Skelthsea?’ I asked.