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watched him, calm and reassuring. ‘And then: Michael. By pure luck: Michael. If Susan had been going to a different fertility clinic, someone else would have got the child. The clinic didn’t expect Michael to be “unwanted” by his natural mother. It was pure chance. Susan was in the right place at the right time for a simple, private transfer.’
    ‘And everything above board,’ Jenny said distractedly, looking at the snoring child. Richard felt cold for a moment and glanced at the woman sharply; but she had not been trying to score a point, merely making an idle statement that she assumed to be true. Jenny looked up again, slightly apprehensive.
    ‘Susan’s told me about the … well, what do I call it? The problem.’
    The room closed round him a little. He could hear the sound of children screaming, and a distant chant: ‘Dig the beast. Dig the beast.’
    ‘They’re excavating the tumulus. There’s nothing there now, but I don’t suppose their parents will be happy about the filthy clothes.’
    Jenny stared at him without expression. Then she said, ‘Susan looks ill.’
    Sighing, Richard agreed with her. ‘She’s certain it’s Michael’s natural mother.’
    ‘His mother?’
    ‘Who’s throwing the dirt … The
problem
, as you call it.
    ‘But … his
birth
-mother?’
    ‘Or perhaps one of her family. It’s vicious. It’s vindictive. And it’s frightening the life out of us.’
    Jenny was solemn. ‘We haven’t known you and Susan for long, but long enough to see the strain you’re both under. You
must
ask Geoff and me for help. Any time.’
    Richard stood and prowled the study, nodding his thanks. ‘But what I can’t understand is how she gets in here? How does she get into the house? It really doesn’t make any sense. But we have no other answers …’
    The doorburst open and the ‘Isadora’ child entered, breathless, her thin summer dress a mess of dirt and water. She said, ‘We’ve found a bone in the garden. It may belong to the giant.’
    ‘Good.’
    ‘Do you want to see it?’
    ‘I wouldn’t dare.’ Richard walked over to the door, dropping to a crouch before the girl. ‘This is a haunted house, you see. Has been for centuries. The people who lived here before us, and who found the giant’s bones, all lost their hair within a week. It just fell out. All of it. They were utterly bald for the rest of their lives. I’d bury the bone again if I were you.’
    The girl hesitated, frowned, then looked alarmed and fled, her hair flowing. He noticed how she had started to gather it in, tying it into a tight knot, as she left the hall.
    Jenny was shaking her head, an expression of amused puzzlement on her face. ‘You’re so
good
to your guests, Richard. I’ve always liked that about you.’
    ‘Trying out my tactics on the opposition ready for Michael’s childhood years. I think I’ve got a lot to learn.’
    ‘I think you probably have.’
    More seriously, Jenny went on, ‘What
I
don’t understand is the simple “why”.
Why
would the mother torment the child like this? She wouldn’t have agreed to the adoption, would she? Unless she was sure? So why would she try and hurt the boy now?’
    Richard raised his hands in exasperation. ‘I know. I know. As I say, it really doesn’t make sense …’
    ‘Does it happen when you’re
with
Michael? Does earth get thrown then?’
    Shaking his head, Richard said, ‘We stayed downstairs last night, listening to the baby speaker. Earth was thrown. The night before, Susan had left him to go to the kitchen. A few minutes only. Earth was thrown. And I’m certain there was no one in the house …’
    ‘Noone or no
thing
that you could see,’ Jenny murmured.
    ‘You mean a poltergeist? I thought about that last night.’ He reached into his desk drawer and drew out the file copy of his article, turning to the back page where his spidery handwriting had scrawled the word several times, gouging the paper.
    He was momentarily shocked.