Shocked silence hung in the air after Paul's derisive remark. Deep beneath my burning rage, I felt sorry for the three women who had to work with this macho.

This wasn't my battle, though. I didn't know Paul, and I wasn't privy to the chemistry of this group—and I'd had enough. Cold as a rock, I turned to my friend, keeping my voice level. "Matt, I think we're wasting our time here. Sorry, Vic, but we have places to be, business to attend." I forced a smile and reached out to shake hands with the other women. "Chiara, Béa, it was a pleasure—thank you for the interesting explanations and good luck with your last days on the dig."

Then I turned and walked away, not waiting for an answer, haunted by Vic's downtrodden expression. Quiet footsteps behind me told me that Matt followed my lead. Right in time, I remembered the wonky plank and avoided tripping. Outside of the tent, I stormed another fifty metres until I stopped, my fingers clenched into fists and trembling from the sheer amount of suppressed anger burning through my system. "What a chauvinistic jerk."

Matt winced, his face pale and eyes haunted. "He wasn't always that bad."

"What? Are you defending that little piece of snot?" Angry heat rose to my face.

He shook his head and motioned for me to walk. "Shh, move on, and I'll explain later."

I nodded and stalked away, still shaking and trying to ignore the harsh voices now engaged in a heated discussion behind us in the tent. Vic and Béa seemed to give Paul their mind. I couldn't hear Chiara, but that was perhaps because the others were too loud. Glad we were finally out of earshot, I slammed my hard hat onto the table by the office container and slipped out of my vest. I withstood the temptation to ball it up and throw it to the floor. Instead, I hung it over a wooden chair's back. "And now?"

Matt did the same with far gentler movements before he shrugged. "We walk back to the van. I guess Vicky will be too angry and busy to remember she gave us a ride."

I glanced back at the tent, almost expecting to see smoke billowing over it from the shouting match. It looked as innocent as ever. So I checked the distance to the hill that marked the town's medieval centre. The towers of the castle were visible between two apartment buildings and perhaps half an hour on foot away. As the amphitheatre was situated right behind the castle, the walk seemed acceptable and would help me cool down. "Fine, let's go. Gives you ample time to tell me everything about this git, Paul."

Matt's smile was lopsided. "Should have known you wouldn't let me off the hook." We walked in silence alongside two modern apartment blocks before he offered an explanation. "As you probably gathered, Paul and I go back a while. He shared courses at uni with Vicky, and she introduced us at a birthday party."

Glad I wore decent walking boots, I lengthened my strides to keep up with my agitated friend. Despite his calm exterior, Matt seemed in need of burning excess energy. Not that I could blame him. "Paul was interesting, even exotic or mysterious, witty, and good company. And as life plays, over time, one thing led to another."

I stopped. "Wait, you and that prime example of a misogynist cave dweller were in a relationship?" I couldn't believe my Matt, the favourite of girls and women with his innocent, friendly and positive attitude, fell for such a tosser.

Matt turned back to me and spread his hands, the hint of a smile gleaming in his eyes. "Don't insult the cave dwellers. Vic insists that to judge by certain archaeological evidence, Palaeolithic humans might have been less egocentric than most people today."

I shook my head and began walking again, mulling over this random bit of information, until Matt continued his tale. "We'll, back to Paul. As I told you, he wasn't always that bad. Or perhaps I didn't see it, blinded by love. We had na nasty break-up last year, though, and if I'd known that he works in Vicky's project, I would have avoided turning up here, believe me."

I could relate. After all, it was only a few months since Simon had dumped me, and I still felt bruised, my ability to build a new relationship hampered. Lou could tell a tale. It would have bothered me too if I'd ran into my ex at this point—when I tried to push him out of my mind and life for good and start anew. "Sorry, coming here was an ill-fated idea. It is a fact there was not the slightest discernible trace of a ghost in that tent, just a high concentration of testosterone."

"Not mine for sure." Matt chuckled, and I was relieved he got over the shock of meeting his despicable ex. "With Paul turning up, I forgot we came to check for a ghost. Meeting him made for a far worse scenario than any haunting could. Let's check if my sensor caught something useful."

Matt fished his smartphone from a pocket and opened his self-made tracking app to scroll through the log of his ghost sensor. "No paranormal traces, like you said. Not that I'd ever doubt your talent. But I wonder what the three ladies observed."

"Béa and Chiara didn't leave the impression of being prone to hallucinations. Even Vic was half convinced she'd seen something unexplainable, otherwise she'd never told us about it." To me, she seemed too much the scientist and was prone to mistrust her observations, according to her earlier words. We would have to deliver solid evidence to her to prove that ghosts existed or she would continue neglecting the facts.

"I agree. Well, I might call her tonight, tell her why I wasn't keen to meet Paul—and apologise for storming off and leave her to fend off his verbal attacks." He stowed his phone. "The whole story happened during the time she spent abroad, so I don't know if she even realised we have been close at one point."

This explained why Vic believed Paul would be happy to see Matt. "Good idea to call her, but I think staying there to support her would only have added to the tension. I don't think this scene was about your blown relationship either. Chiara mentioned he was in a mood before, and he can't have guessed Vic invited us to visit today. We ran into her only yesterday by coincidence."

Although I wondered if it was a coincidence at all. But I had felt a ghost, so, maybe, the Raven's visit was unrelated. I shrugged. "Perhaps Vic will know what bugged him." We walked in silence for a moment. Our conversation had helped me clear my focus. "It's been ages since I met someone as unpleasant and rude as Paul, and everyone in this tent seemed as surprised as me."

Matt shrugged. "Sure, he always had a flaring temper, but this was not at all like I remember him. Still, people change."

They did, but something seemed off. As I couldn't place my finger on it, I kept my thoughts to myself.

We followed the old main road through the picturesque medieval town centre in silence. At a bakery, we bought pastries as a consolation for our hurt feelings and ate them on our way back to the amphitheatre.

"Shall we go back to the museum? I'd like to see the rest of their exhibition."

Matt shrugged. "Why not? Everything that helps me forget what happened."

I was sure a chat with Geraldine wouldn't hurt. We walked around the rim of the theatre towards the museum when a tour bus stopped in the parking lot and spewed forth a sweaty stream of German tourists. They surged towards the entrance amidst laughter and merry chatter. Matt and I exchanged a desperate glance. This wasn't our lucky day.

All thoughts I'd had about returning to the exhibition evaporated. "Pity we didn't get to see more of the dig and the museum."

"We can come back another day, or you ask Lou to visit with you. I bet he'd like the place, too. Just make sure there is no tour bus scheduled when you come."

I laughed. "Great idea." I had already established that Lou was interested in history and art, and it would be nice to suggest an outing we both enjoyed.

We spent most of the forty-minute ride back to Corbières in silence, mulling over our experience. Only when we left the highway and neared our destination, Matt glanced at me sideways. "To tell the truth, I loved him. Paul, I mean. He seemed exotic and interesting and caring. Guess this shows how appearances can deceive."

"They can, and I'm sorry you got hurt. Will you join me for a late lunch?" I wanted to hug him, but it would have been awkward while he was driving.

Matt shook his head. "I better get going. Dad is still recovering from his surgery, and you know he can be a handful. My mother will be glad if I get the shopping done for her."

He pulled up the van in the parking lot of the castle and smiled. "I'll hunt for potential jobs tonight. We need to get back on a proper case." He didn't need to add he hoped this would pull his mind from today's unpleasant encounter.

"Alright, I'll check the mail later. See you tomorrow."