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"I tried to hide my fear, reminding myself that no matter how sophisticated he had become and how at odds with me he might be, he couldn't read my mind.

"As for me, I was restless and only partially focused on him. I was too in love with Mona to be focused on him. It was so wicked! After all these years. Did he know it?

" 'Come on, let's walk out of this light,' I said to him.

"I walked on back past the shed and onto the west side of the property, where the wicker patio lay in its own bath of electric light. He followed me, and when I glanced over to him, when I slipped my left arm around him, I saw that he had become my duplicate in clothing again. It seemed such a simpleton thing.

" 'Will you try to take me with you?' he asked. 'When you go to Europe? Will you hold my hand?¡¯

" 'Yes,' I said. 'I'll do it. You'll be right next to me on the plane. I'll hold tight to your hand all the way. ' With all my soul I meant it but I was speaking to a faded love when it was my blessed Ophelia to whom my soul belonged. I was her Hamlet and her Laertes and perhaps her Polonius as well. But I must not forget my Goblin, and it was not fear of him but loyalty that goaded me now.

"I had other things on my mind too. The Hermitage, for example, and how I meant to reclaim it from its wilderness neglect. I had already spoken to Allen, the supervisor of the craftsmen among the Shed Men, about running electricity out to it, and there were other things I meant to do.

"Of course the mysterious stranger was a real problem, more real than the Shed Men knew. But I was drawing pictures in my mind of how splendid I could make the place. And of how wonderful it would be to take Mona to the island, and how exciting it was that Mona wanted to see it and wasn't afraid.

"Dreaming of all this, conniving and planning, dreaming of Mona tomorrow and whether we could escape to Europe, I struggled to be true and faithful to Goblin, when quite suddenly he stiffened and, squeezing my hand, said in his telepathic voice:

"Be careful. He comes. He thinks I don't know him and he means harm.

"At once he vanished. Or at least he was gone from my vision, and at the same time the floodlights went out as if someone had tripped the switch. I found myself plunged into relative darkness.

"Instantly, an arm came up and hooked around my neck and a hand grasped my left arm behind my back tightly. I struggled but it was useless. My free right hand couldn't do a thing against either grip, and the voice of the stranger spoke in my ear softly.

" 'Call for help and I'll kill you. Turn your spirit friend loose on me and I'll kill you. You and all your dreams will be gone. ¡¯¡¯

"I was in a rage. 'I fought you once,' I growled. 'I'll fight you again. ¡¯

" 'You're not listening. ' His voice was low. It had no sound of menace. 'If your familiar strikes out at me again, you'll die here now. ¡¯

" 'So what's holding you back? Why don't you break my neck now?' I was furious.

" 'Really,' he said in my ear, 'you are the thinking man's victim. ¡¯

" 'I'm nobody's victim,' I responded.

" 'Of course not, because you're going to do what I want. ¡¯

" 'Which is what?' I asked. Remembering some advice from long ago, I tried to turn my head to one side so he wouldn't have full pressure on my larynx, but he only tightened his grasp on both my neck and my arm. I was in pain.

" 'Stop fighting me and listen,' he said in the same calm near-caressing voice. 'I'll leave you like a broken dove on the ground here for your Aunt Queen to find in the morning. ' He went on in his reasonable way, just above a whisper. 'You know she comes out for a stroll before dawn, don't you? Old people don't sleep well. They don't need the full hours of the night. She comes with Jasmine and Jasmine is still dopey, but they make their little constitutional while the stars are still clear. ¡¯

" 'And you're watching,' I said. I was horrified. 'What do you want of us?¡¯

" 'You're going to be enormously impressed with my generosity, but I have been eternally known for my generosity and my cleverness. ¡¯

" 'Try me,' I said. I was almost too angry to talk sense.

" 'Very well,' he said. 'I've done a great deal of thinking about you, and this island which we both claim. I've come to the conclusion that I want to share the Hermitage with you. That is, I'll allow you to use it by day and I shall use it by night as has been my custom. ¡¯

" 'By night? You come there only by night?' This was almost unendurable.

" 'Of course. Why do you think you found the candles, and the ashes in the fireplace? I have no use for it by day, but I don't want others troubling it ever. I'm to find no evidence of others when I come. Except for evidence of you. Your books, your papers, things like that. Now for the most important part of the bargain. You're to improve the Hermitage. You're to take it to a new level of excellence. Do you follow me?¡¯

"He had loosened the grip just a little. I could breathe without it hurting. But he had me as firmly as ever, and my left arm, my good arm, was aching. I was paralyzed with fury.

" 'The improvements are key,' he said. 'You're to take care of them, and then we will both enjoy it happily. You'll never know I'm there perhaps. Oh we can share the books we read. We can grow to know each other. Who knows, we may come to be friends. ¡¯

" 'What improvements?' I said. Obviously the creature was insane.