Page 41 of Secret Paths

“And no more mice.”

“Real or imaginary?”

“Either… both.”

For a moment, neither of us says anything.

Peter looks towards the door, then back at me. “Anything else?”

I think of him asleep behind me. His arm around my waist. The absurd yoghurt portrait. The way breakfast has felt easy enough to be dangerous.

“No,” I say. “That is enough for now.”

He nods, pulls his jacket straight and opens the door.

“See you around, Doctor.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Peter.” I sound way too formal.

His smile flashes. “Any time.”

I close the door after him and lean back against it.

By lunchtime, Dan will have delivered letters from one end of St Claire to the other. It will only take one raised eyebrow, one question asked over a garden gate, one version of this story with Peter’s name attached to it.

Before a fun arrangement turns into a village council meeting, we need rules.

Chapter 5

Mandy

Four days have passed, and Alexandra has mentioned neither mice nor Peter being at my house.

Instead, she has spent the last thirty minutes trying to sell me Morton Hall’s new head chef.

“He is very settled,” she says.

I look at her over my wine glass. “He has been here for two weeks.”

“Yes, but he has unpacked.”

“That is not a personality trait.”

“It suggests commitment.”

“It suggests he owns hangers.”

Alexandra gives me a patient look. “He is nice, Mandy.”

“I am not disputing that.”

“And funny.”

“Is he?”

“He made Hunter laugh during the interview.”

“That is a low bar. Hunter laughs when Bernard sneezes.”