Anon, Agnes could never say which came first, the tale, the witch or the snatchings. By the end of that year, the Year of Our Lord 1598, the elders themselves fained not to speak of it and that autumn became a tale in itself. All told, Dannet was a humble place, a hamlet on the […]

Sommerset House is enormous. A white rectangle, two storeys and an attic high, columns wrapping all sides, sash windows, dark shutters. Manicured lawns. Innocent-looking as if its history is nothing to do with it; the outbuildings dismantled some while ago. Nothing to see here. Rather like a man pretending he hasn’t just stepped in dog […]

She calls them pig-oons instead of pigeons. “Look at the pig-oons!” Does it with a little sly smile every time, waiting to be asked why. She’s scattering seed all over the place, all over the lawn, so next year it’ll be sprouting thick-shafted wheat and barley in amongst the grass. Not much of it, though—the […]

In the quiet, you will hear us, our voices rising above the hush. How do you tell the difference between thinking and hearing? It used to come so naturally. Clarence had lived alone for some time. It should have been easy. One weekend he tried counting all the people on his picture wall he knew […]