‘Naomi?’ Rav appears, two cups of tea in his hands.

‘Naomi’s going now,’ I say, taking the two cups from him. ‘Thanks for coming over, but everything is perfectly all right.’

Rav looks from me to Naomi and back again. ‘I’ll see you out,’ he says, his hand on the small of Naomi’s back as he walks her to the door. She doesn’t leave immediately and peering around the doorframe I see Rav’s head lowering to hers as he says something to her. Her eyes flit towards me and she bites on her lower lip before nodding, her hand lingering for just a moment too long on his shoulder. I feel sick at the intimate gesture, closing my eyes against the image as I hear her say goodbye. Rav closes the door and then leans against it, his back against the old, solid oak and he sighs.

‘What’s going on, Al?’

Maybe I should ask Rav the same thing. ‘Nothing. Nothing is going on.’ I go back into the sitting room, taking care not to stomp my anger and fear out across the floorboards. I need to keep calm. As I lower myself back against the sofa cushions, a single scratch comes from the chimney and my breath catches for a moment in my throat.

‘I’m worried about you.’ Rav comes and sits next to me, pulling me against him. I lean my head against his shoulder, feeling my whole body unstiffen, even though I am still furious with him for what he said to Naomi. ‘So is Avó. Naomi is too. You’re not yourself.’

‘I told you, Rav, I’m tired. I told you that things were worrying me, and you just laughed it off.’

‘Is this about the bones? And the stuff in the chimney?’

I nod, but don’t speak, not trusting my voice. ‘I’m not mad, Rav. I know what I saw, whether you believe me or not.’

‘Al, this place is old, really old. There are going to be some stories about it but honestly, there isn’t anything for you to worry about. You don’t believe in all that stuff, do you? We laughed about it before.’ He kisses the top of my head and there is silence for a minute. I say nothing, the article about Lillian Sparks still fresh in my mind, Elsie’s adamance that the charm needed to be replaced. That’s not just a story.

‘Al, would you think about maybe seeing the doctor? Just for some peace of mind?’

‘The doctor?’ I pull away, twisting my face up towards his. ‘Rav, I’m fine. I promise. I don’t need to see a doctor.’

‘It couldn’t hurt though, could it?’ Rav says, pulling away from me now, sitting forward on the edge of the sofa. ‘I mean, you say you’re fine, that there’s nothing wrong. If that’s the case, the doctor can confirm it.’