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not.’
    â€˜Of course I’ll come with you,’ Bunnie said. ‘But I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.’
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    It was half past ten and Georgie and Bunnie were on their second bottle of wine. They sat at the bar in the village pub. The Greenman was as old as the church and looked as if it hadn’t been redecorated in the last fifty years. The wallpaper was peeling at the corners, threatening to fall off at any moment. The carpet may have been a red colour at some point, but was now just a filthy brown.
    Bunnie leaned forward. ‘Are we going to ask someone or not?’
    Georgie looked around. Apart from a group of rough-looking middle-aged men at the other end of the bar, they had been the only customers all night. She felt conspicuous, even though she had dressed down for the occasion in jeans and a T-shirt, her hair pulled into a ponytail, and she wore little make-up. Bunnie had done the same, discarding their usual designer labels and dressing down so they would hopefully pass as a couple of students from the town. If people found out she was Lady Georgina they may be less likely to give her the information she needed. Although, now they were here she began to think it wasn’t such a good idea. Close-knit communities like this were always suspicious of strangers, and the group of locals kept shooting furtive glances in their direction.
    â€˜Do you want me to ask them?’ Bunnie said.
    â€˜I don’t know. I’m not so sure this is a good idea.’
    The barman or landlord who had been serving them all evening reappeared from a door behind the bar. He was a large man in build as well as height, and he had to stoop to avoid a collision with the low beams of the pub. His head was a tangled mess of black hair and his face was hidden by an unkempt beard. He walked towards them wiping his hands on a dirty dishcloth, and looked at them through beetle-black eyes.
    â€˜You still here then?’ he barked at them, wiping the bar top with the same filthy rag.
    If his appearance was intimidating it was nothing compared with his abrupt manner. Georgie was not accustomed to meeting men like him. The gruff figure before her would not look out of place in the wild. There was a power radiating from him, with an underlying air of danger. He scared Georgie, but she tried to dismiss the feeling. She was being silly, letting her imagination get the better of her. She took a sip of her wine and prepared to ask him the question she’d been rehearsing in her head, but Bunnie got in there first.
    â€˜We’re down here to visit our friend Lily, but she hasn’t turned up. She’s about my height, fair hair... has she been in today?’ she asked, trying to sound casual.
    The barman continued to eye them for a minute before answering. ‘I’ve never heard of her. Now drink up; we’re closing early tonight.’ He turned and walked to the other end of the bar and joined in conversation with the huddle of men.
    â€˜Come on, let’s get out of here,’ Georgie said, draining the last of her wine. What a complete waste of time. Maybe her mother was right and they should just call the police.
    As they left the pub Georgie felt the eyes of the men watching them leave, and walking to the car Georgie said, ‘I shouldn’t drive. I’ve had too much to drink tonight’
    â€˜Okay, I’ve only had a couple,’ Bunnie offered.
    Georgie fumbled for a moment in her handbag. ‘I can’t find the keys. I don’t believe this. I must have dropped them inside. I’ll have to go back and get them.’
    â€˜I’ll come with you,’ Bunnie said, and the girls made their way back to the pub entrance, but as they reached the door Georgie noticed all the lights were off and when she tried the handle she found the door locked.
    â€˜They must have closed already, but I didn’t see the others leave,’ Georgie said,