Genevieve du Quesne is dead.’ ‘No, Ma. It’s your Eppie what’s dead.’ ‘That’s a very cruel thing to say.’ ‘True, nevertheless.’ ‘You’re only making this up because I wasn’t pleased about the logs.’ ‘I wish. Why d’ya think I hate going to church? It’s because seeing her and Gabriel together is too much to bear. Why d’ya think I drink so hard? It’s because of me guilt about taking Genevieve.’ ‘You’re raving with the drink.’ ‘Listen, Ma. At least listen to what I have to say, then you can choose whether to believe me or not.’ Unwillingly, he recreated the torment of that night. ‘If it hadn’t been for Gabriel I might’ve been able to forget. I could’ve got on with me life. In me head, though, I always hear his screams.’ Weakly, he added, ‘It were Talia what encouraged me.’ ‘Talia?’ Martha breathed. ‘I didn’t reckon on what she were at first. I was blundering along the tunnel with Genevieve when this all-bones dead ‘un came shambling at me in a dripping frock.’ ‘Are you saying you saw her bugaboo?
