The Book Eaters

by Sunyi Dean

Like so many places in the north, Alnwick was all history and no future. Gardens and castles for tourists, dwindling high streets and rising unemployment for locals.

think I’ve dropped my phone on the beach. Will you be all right here?” His gaze flickered briefly at the mini fridge. “I’ll be fine.” Devon frowned. “For the last bloody time, you’re barely four years old, you don’t need—and cannot drink—any lager. Touch that fridge and I’m chucking out the Game Boy.”

Evening settled over Traquair House like a freshly washed duvet, thick and damp. Watching the darkness descend,

Maybe, Devon thought, that was the best anybody could hope for in life: to be missed when gone, however one had lived.