Chapter 5

But he surprises me. “Come on.”

His change of heart is so sudden, I don’t move at first.

“Nicholas? Nick. Come on, you can stay with me. You work at the stables?”

I nod.

“Come on.” He waits until I catch up with him, and then starts walking again, a few paces ahead. Our footsteps fall into an eerie rhythm that echoes behind us as if we’re being followed. I glance over my shoulder but there’s no one there, no one at all, only him and me and I hold onto the sleeve of his shirt so I don’t lose him in the night and the fog.

* * * *

He has a key that unlocks the door to the inn.

“I don’t think we should be here,” I say, unsure. Isn’t he finished with this charade yet? “David…”

He pushes open the heavy door. “It’s fine.”

I expect it to be dark inside, locked up tight and musty, closed until tomorrow morning, so I’m surprised to find an oily lamp burning on the desk. That can’t be safe.

In a low whisper, he tells me, “Marie knows I come in late. She leaves a light out for me.”