She expected him to laugh, to shrug; to deny it absolutely but instead he frowned. ‘There have been exorcisms at Belheddon. Several, I think. I know your mother had one carried out before I came to the parish, and I myself blessed the house and celebrated holy communion there on one occasion. Your grandmother too may have done the same. There was a history going back many centuries of reports of ghosts and even of devils, though I don’t myself believe it is the devil or even one of his minions.’ At last he permitted himself a little smile. ‘No, I think there is an unhappy spirit in the house. And I think it finds itself attracted to women. I don’t think you yourself are in any danger, Joss. None at all.’
‘But what about the others?’
He looked up and met her eye. For several seconds he said nothing. ‘I think you should be aware that it is possible that it is in some way more hostile towards men. And boys.’
‘So hostile that no boy has ever lived to grow up in the house.’
He shrugged unhappily. ‘Your brothers’ deaths were recorded as accidental, Joss. Both seemed terribly, terribly sad accidents, the kind of thing that can happen anywhere in any period. I really don’t know if there was anything sinister about them. I was with your mother after the deaths of both boys, and she never for a moment seemed to suspect anything else. She would have told me if she had, I’m sure of it. And yet –’ he stood up, shaking his head uncomfortably and went to stand at the window, looking down at the sea which was black and oily beneath the thunder clouds. Running his finger round the inside of his collar he turned at last. Perspiration was standing out on his forehead. ‘Joss. I do not want to alarm you, but I am not happy about you and your family staying in that house. Why not go away for a few weeks. When is the baby due? Surely you could stay with friends or family until then.’
‘You could even come here, my dear,’ Dot put in. ‘We’d be happy to have you. All of you.’
Joss shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to go away. Belheddon is my home now. I love it so much.’ She shrugged. ‘And the others don’t feel anything. Luke loves it there too. It’s perfect for him. He can run his business from the courtyard, and he’s doing really well. He would think it a tragedy to leave now, just when it’s all coming together. And I … I’m happy there.’
‘What about your son?’ Dot’s voice was sharp.
‘Dot!’ Her husband rounded on her. ‘Young Tom will be fine. Joss is a different woman from her mother. She can cope. She can keep them all safe, I’m sure she can.’
Joss stared at him. ‘What exactly does that mean?’ Her own voice had suddenly become hard with suspicion.
‘It means that your mother became nervous and lonely after your father and brothers died. And who can blame her. She was not a strong woman at the best of times and she became a little neurotic. I think she imagined a great deal of what she thought went on in the house.’
‘What sort of things did she imagine?’ Joss was watching him intently.
He did not meet her eye. ‘She imagined she heard things; saw people. She thought things were being moved about. Towards the end she was hallucinating – of that there is no doubt. When her French friend suggested she move away from Belheddon, for a long time she was too afraid to go. She seemed to feel that someone was keeping her there. We – that is the village quack and I – thought it was the memory of the boys – and of course your father. Nothing could have been more understandable. Less hard to understand was her resolve to give you away. No one understood that. No one.’ He shook his head.
‘She did it to save me.’ Joss was twisting her fingers into the cotton of her voluminous shirt. ‘She wrote me two letters which John Cornish gave me. One said she hoped one day I would understand why she had given me away; the other said that it was my father’s idea that I should be allowed to inherit Belheddon and that she could not leave until she had arranged that I should, even though it was not what she wanted. My father died before I was born, so presumably he left some kind of will which included his unborn child.’ She shrugged. ‘He must have loved me.’
Neither of the Gowers reacted to the illogicality of this remark. Edgar merely slowly shook his head. ‘They both loved you, my dear. Your father was so pleased your mother was going to have another baby after all the unhappiness in the house. His accident was the most dreadful tragedy. My hope is that the happiness of having a young family in the house again will wipe out all the sadness once and for all.’
‘And the unhappy spirit you were talking about?’
He glanced at his wife. ‘I think what I will do is have a talk to one or two colleagues who know more about these things than I do. I have an idea what we should do, but I need to consult. Will you trust me?’ He smiled. ‘And above all be brave. Remember prayer will act as a shield and a strength. I will come and see you as soon as I have worked out what to do. And now –’ he took a deep breath, ‘I think what we are going to do is give you a decent lunch to fortify you before you go home.’
Home! She hadn’t rung. They would be wondering what on earth had become of her.
When she finally got through Lyn was furious. ‘Who said you could take my car? I was going home this afternoon and Luke needs the Citro?n. What were you thinking about? For God’s sake, Joss, you could have guessed we were only down in the village. What the hell is the matter with you?’ The angry voice echoed round the Gowers’ living room. Joss’s hosts had withdrawn tactfully to rummage in the kitchen and begin to make lunch.
Joss looked out of the window towards the sea. ‘I’m sorry, Lyn. I really am. It was urgent.’
‘And what am I supposed to do? Isn’t it bad enough having to look after your bloody family every second of the day, without you taking my only means of escape!’
There was a long silence. Joss’s attention had come back sharply to the phone. ‘Lyn – ’
‘Yes, Lyn! What would you do without Lyn?’ The voice had grown more shrill. ‘I’m sorry, Joss. But it is too bad. I am fed up with it all. I know you can’t do much at the moment, but why should it all fall on me?’