Claudius thinks again of the list, where both their names were circled. As a private notation, it might’ve marked them as centers of the web … but as provocation, it would make those names stand out, make someone more likely to stoop over and look closer, as they recognized the name of a friend.

There’s still too many ifs. Claudius corrals his speculation, and says, “During our tête-à-tête, she came up with quite a cunning plan to theoretically oust the mansion spirits by exploiting their attachment to us. It’s not beyond her. But if that’s the case, the poison is also the antidote, in its way. Our loved ones are our weakness, but the more care and attention we pay each other, the more likely we are to notice when something’s awry. Even an ordinarily private pain, like a nightmare.”