William looked down at her, his expression calm, even flat, and Sam felt a moment of danger, not to her but to them, as if the ice she was standing on were mushy and unsafe after all.
“Never mind,” he said as if to himself. “You’re not that Machiavellian.” He held out a gloved hand to Sam to help her. She ignored him, crawling up over the invisible boulders on all fours.
“It’s your brilliant Simone brain,” said William, forging down the causeway toward the logging road. “You’re a writer who’s not writing, and your mind is like an hyperactive puppy. If you don’t give it something to chew on, it’ll destroy everything in its path.”
“Whether I’m writing or not, and thanks for that dog analogy, by the way—” Sam began, and then her right snowshoe caught on something and tipped her sideways and she tumbled off the causeway. It wasn’t more than a few feet, but the wind had been strong in the night and scoured away much of the snow. She landed badly and hit her head on the ice.
“Ow,” she said. “Fuck.”
William was crouched at her side instantly, pressing her in place.
“Oh honey,” he said. “Stay still for a minute. Do you feel dizzy?”
“No.”
“Nauseous?”
“No. Just stupid,” Sam said. She laughed. William didn’t. He pulled off her hood and wool hat and very carefully felt her head, Sam wincing when he found the tender spot.
“Nice goose egg,” he said. “We’ll keep an eye on it. I’ll take you to Augusta if you’re concussed, or we can call for a medevac. Although it’ll take them an hour to get out here...”
“I think I’m fine,” Sam said. “Just clumsy.”
“Not clumsy. Unpracticed. This is what I’ve been telling you,” William said, sitting next to her. His cheeks were bright red, tiny ice crystals in his sideburns. “This is why you mustnevergo out without me. You’re not used to it here. This doesn’t look like a bad fall. But if it had been...”
“I’m not a child, William. I lived in the Berkshires. And I’m learning.”
“I know you are. I applaud what a sport you’ve been. But experienced countryfolk get in trouble out here. Even ones born into these conditions. Look what happened to Pen.”
Pen? thought Sam. His sister? She was about to ask, Whathadhappened to Pen? when William said, “I’m being too hard on you, I see that now. Let’s get you back to the house. I’ll continue the hunt on my own. I keep forgetting how new all this is to you. You’re acclimating. That’s why you’re seeing things.”
“I am not—” Sam started to argue, but instead, as he helped her to her feet and dusted her off, she changed tack and asked, “What about security?”
“What do you mean?” William said. He guided her along the ice back toward the house, holding Sam’s hand now, though she could feel nothing in the insulated Mickey Mouse gloves they both wore.
“I mean do you have any security here, in addition to the gates?” Which they were passing now, navigating back around the pillars. The stuffed rabbit was still affixed to one of the spikes. He’d lost an ear, and his fur had molted off in patches.
“There’s ample security,” William said shortly. “Do you see where we live? Do you know how hard it is to get here in the winter?”
“But there’s no security system per se,” Sam persisted. “Right? Like no cameras or alarms that alert the police or anything?”
William laughed. “Simone, sweetheart. The difficulty anyone would have getting here to do us harm is the difficulty anyone would have getting here to help us. How long do you think it would take the sheriff to reach us on an unplowed road? Even a plowed one? If we had a fire, the house would burn to the ground long before the fire department could get here. We areunincorporated.”
“Oh good, I feel so much better now,” Sam said.
“I won’t minimize the risks, Simone. We face real dangers here. ButI’myour security.” William pulled her up onto the snowy shore of the island. “I know it’s hard for you to suspend disbelief,” he continued as they trekked toward the house. “How can you trust, after what you went through with Hank? But I am not some poor feckless addict. You’re safe now.” He put a hand on Sam’s heart. “Believe,” he said emphatically.
Sam stared at him, unblinking.
“Work with me for a minute,” she said. “Justpretendthe Rabbit was in the house. What if she comes back? What if she gets in again?”
William gazed out across the lake. He was in profile to her, the icy light turning his closest eye into a translucent marble. It shifted back and forth as if he were dreaming. He’s not here, Sam thought. Where is he?
“Let the Rabbit come,” he said, distantly, almost casually. “I welcome it. I’ve prayed to catch her in my house. Because that would be a clear case of self-defense. I’d end her.”
Sam squinted up at him. His hair, more gray now than brown, whipped around the ear flaps of his cap. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” said William, still in that remote tone. “I’d try to disable her first. Humanely. And permanently, so she couldn’t pull any more stunts. Then turn her over to the authorities. But if things get out of hand in the moment, well... she’ll bring her fate upon herself.”
