There is something about the way he says it that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. ‘You knew, didn’t you?’ A bubble of red-hot fury pops low down in my stomach, making my veins fizz. ‘Bloody hell, Rav, you knew the history of this place and you never even mentioned it!’

‘Because I knew you would react like this,’ Rav hisses back at me. ‘I knew you wouldn’t want to live here if you thought it had a past, but seriously, Allie! A house this age will always have a past, and I knew it might creep you out. I was trying to protect you; I didn’t want you to worry.’ He moves towards me, putting his arms out as if to embrace me but I take a step back. ‘Allie, please. We both love this house. I knew it would shake you up if you knew it had a reputation as a witch’s house but come on. It’s just a story, none of it is real. Let’s go to bed, it’ll all look so much better in the morning.’

‘You can sleep down here.’ I march to the understairs cupboard, pulling out a set of blankets. ‘Or I will. I need to be on my own.’

Rav sighs, and for a moment I think he’s going to apologize, but he just says, ‘Fine. I’ll sleep down here,’ and holds out his arms for the blankets.

It’s only a short while later, when I have tucked the baby into the cot and climbed into bed, too wired and hurt by Rav’s decision to keep the history of the house a secret to sleep, that I realize I am cold, chilled to my bones. The sun is already starting to rise on the horizon, and I roll over onto my side, burrowing down into the duvet, my heart freezing in my chest as I see that the bedroom window – the window that I closed when I woke earlier – stands wide open.

Chapter Ten

Early morning sunlight is peeping in through the window when I open my eyes to a gentle pressure on the bed next to me. Rav is perched on the edge of the mattress, a mug of tea in his hand. My eyes feel gritty and sore. The open window had played on my mind until some time after the sun had appeared over the horizon. The shrill cries of a child had been ringing in my ears, but when I checked on Mina she had been sleeping soundly and then the baby had needed another feed. My head thumps as I struggle into a sitting position and take the mug from Rav.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says, his eyes not quite meeting mine. ‘I should have told you about the house before we put the offer in.’