Page 95 of Ever After

Branok looks uncertain for the first time since I met him. “Richard deplored the wreckers, as did everyone. He would not be in their company.” He shakes his head. “Why would he do that to you and Levi? I do not understand.”

“Neither do I,” Levi says. “I wish you had your memories of your last week alive. We might learn more about this situation.”

“Does Xander’s diary say anything?” he asks.

Levi shakes his head. “His last entry was that you had disappeared and he was going to search for you.”

Branok’s full mouth is soft with sadness. “I would that I had not caused him that pain.”

“We actually don’t know whether you had any choice in the matter,” I remind him. “We need to find out.”

“It is infuriating,” Branok says. He’s still staring at the portrait of the vicar. Then he looks up. His face is set and hard and I see a glimpse of the smuggler in him. This man trod moonlit paths full of danger. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to fuck him over back in his day. “I cannot believe it, but I must.”

I blink. “Just like that? Why?”

“Because you and Levi are not liars. I asked for your help, and if you tell me that the man I thought was a friend has done these things, then I must believe you. There’s only one conclusion. I never knew him at all.” His face is set in lines of determination. “Then we must start at the beginning. We must get to know the real Richard Boynton.”

“Have you seen him at all in the years since you died?” I ask.

Branok shakes his head. “Never. I presumed he had passed on from this world.”

“And you never suspected him of anything?”

He looks suddenly helpless. “I thought him my friend and one who would not harm me. That was a rarity in my social circle.”

“I want to know why he’s so focused on us,” I say grimly. “I usually have to know a person for at least five minutes before they turn menacing.”

“Probably less,” Levi offers helpfully, and I grimace at him.

“Thank you very much.”

Branok looks searchingly at me. “I would say he knows of your reputation, Blue. Richard was always a man who kept a close eye on the comings and goings in the village. I doubt he has changed much in death. So, the arrival of an incredibly powerful psychic in my cottage must have raised alarm bells for him. He would guess that you would help me because there are whispered rumours that you are a kind person.”

“I bloody hope that doesn’t spread around. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“We need to find out what happened that week before Branok’s death,” Levi reminds us. “You don’t recall having any suspicions about Boynton, so the answer to why he is involved in all this must lie in the time you can’t remember. Xander’s diary trails off after your disappearance. So, what happened after that? Who can we ask?”

Branok sits back in the rocking chair. “You must ask Xander himself”

“Pardon?” Levi looks startled.

“He may not have written it in his diary, but he will know something.” He frowns. “Unless he does not remember the week of his own death.”

“Let’s not catastrophise,” I say quickly. Levi’s mouth twitches and I point at him. “Shut up. It’s definitely a word.” I think hard. “We need to go back to the hall,” I finally say. “They run full tours. Lord St Claire did say that, didn’t he, or was it a fever dream?”

Levi nods. “He just gave us a brief tour of the private apartments on that day. He has a lady that does the whole public thing. We could join a tour, but we’d need to get into the private library, though. That’s where I saw Xander.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

His brow furrows. “But we’d be sort of breaking and entering.”

“We would definitely be breaking and entering.”

“Thank you. That’s not helpful.”

I pat his knee. “The key is not to get caught.”

“Oh my god.”