There is a scratch from the chimney, and I grit my teeth together until they ache. A murmur comes from the baby monitor and I wait, expecting the baby to start wailing but he settles himself, and the only sound is my ragged breathing, interspersed with the scratching from the chimney. My nerves are electric, ants buzzing beneath my skin, the air around me charged with static. Agnes was here, I saw her, properly, reflected back in the mirror upstairs. I thought she was tied to the mirror from the attic, but she isn’t. I am not crazy. Naomi thinks I am crazy, has told Rav that there is something wrong with me. All she’s ever wanted is a family of her own, and now she has persuaded Rav to take mine. Shoving the laptop to one side I start to pace, my hands raking through my hair, the scratching in the walls insistent now. It follows me from the sitting room, into the kitchen, out into the garden, a buzzsaw running along my nerve endings. The sun has disappeared completely, the garden various shades of purple darkness. The trees sway, whispering to me, calling to me and I press my hands to my ears, trying to drown out the constant noise. There is a flash of white through the trees, moving quickly as if running through the forest, and my heart leaps into my throat as I try and follow the movement through the thick tangle of the trees. My eyes come to rest on the border, on the snipped stems of the oleander bush. It wasn’t me; I knew it wasn’t me. I never brought those poisonous blooms into our house – Naomi did. It has to have been her. Why? Was she trying to make Rav think that I was trying to hurt him? She said herself that she didn’t believe in all the stories about Pluckley, the legends that haunt the village, but I saw the photo of her at Tara’s, sage burning in the background. I know that Agnes is here, that she never left, but is Naomi using her as a way to turn Rav against me to get what she wants? It’s not just the chilly evening breeze that makes me shiver now – how much does Rav have to do with it all? My brain feels foggy and jumbled, nothing making any sense as sparks try to connect. My mobile rings in my pocket, startling me, a shriek escaping from my lips before I can stop it. Naomi’s name glows bright on the screen and I scan the woods before I swipe to answer it. They are still, dark, no hint of movement, no sign that someone was moving through the trees just minutes before.