He toyed with the idea of simply walking back into his part and meeting the subsequent inquiry with a more or less plausible story. That would be a sensational course, in all conscience, and would serve his purpose very well unless Chloe eloped. And she would: he knew it instinctively. Chloe would elope and people would draw the inevitable and, unfortunately, true conclusions.
The only way to prevent her going off and marrying someone else immediately was for him to remain dead. If he remained dead, how could he ever resurrect himself? How could he ever explain why he had allowed some unknown man to be buried in his stead?
He wandered out into the town. Some of the passers-by glanced at the stranger in their midst with the mild interest of country folk, and Tadema might have been alarmed
