"Is it safe yet?" Jasper asked. I didn't blame him. Edward was fuming after all that Esme chatter, rapidly making our cottage rather inhospitable.

Alice scowled prettily at her husband. "You mean, would I mind checking on what's happening in the house so you don't have to?"

He sighed, "sorry, that wasn't very considerate. Shall I go and check?" He was obliged to offer, but his expression was one of intense distaste. He very much wanted to avoid walking in on anything at the house.

Alice laughed at Jasper's grimace, "I don't think you'd see anything that shocked you, Major. But, as it happens, I have checked, and we're better off staying here."

"Are you?" Edward asked, glaring at Jasper. He really hadn't liked Jasper taking my concerns about himself and Esme seriously. I wondered how he would feel if he knew how much I worried about him and Alice.

It would be very nice to talk to Jasper about that. He was probably the one most likely to empathise, well, obviously. But, I didn't see how we could possibly have a conversation about Edward and Alice. They would never be able to hold themselves back from interrupting.

I felt a bit excited by the idea, though, a little wave of adrenaline rushing through me.

Excited? Why was that?

Hang on, that wasn't me getting excited, that must have been Jasper. When a feeling washed over me in this way, he was often the reason. I turned to ask him what was going on, but he was looking at Edward.

Jasper didn't say anything. He just looked Edward in the eye. Edward frowned. Jasper must have thought something at him.

Then lots of things happened all at once.

Edward shouted "Alice!" He sounded very irritated. It sounded like the start of a whole new argument.

Alice shouted "Jasper!' She sounded shocked, and a little bit betrayed. She looked as though she might be about to take Jasper outside for a discussion of her own.

Jasper grabbed my hand and shouted " run!" He sounded far more amused, not at all worried about Alice's anger with him, nor even about Edward's annoyance with her.

There was no time to think, and it was an easy choice to make: stay with the angry omniscient twins, or run into the woods with a laughing Jasper. We ran hand in hand as fast as we could.

We ran and ran. Jasper was laughing and, soon enough, I started laughing too. After all the intense emotions of the day, it felt amazing to run.

We ran until we reached a beach and Jasper led me along the rocky shoreline. He stopped and said, "wait here," then he sprang into the air. Vampires are good jumpers, but Jasper jumps highest of all our family. He sprang up into the cliffs and disappeared. A few seconds later he dropped down a thick rope and helped me follow him.

He'd jumped into a cave concealed in the rocks. He must have been here several times before. Not only had he left the rope, there were blankets and cushions scattered around, and a pile of thick rugs on the floor.

"What is this place?" I asked.

Jasper shrugged, "a bolt hole, I suppose. Though, it's a rather comfortable one. I'm getting used to civilian life." He threw himself backwards onto a big pike of soft furnishings and smiled sheepishly.

I grinned. "Do you bring Alice here?" I asked, wondering if I dared lie on any of these blankets.

He shook his head, "not yet."

I was surprised. Why would he bring me here before Alice?

"I don't like she'd like it," he went on, "it's a bit dark and damp."

I lay down next to him and we stared at the roof together.

"It's high up, though," Jasper went on, "and hidden. Difficult to get to."

I nodded.

"I like it," I said, "where did you get all this stuff?"

"Sometimes when we redecorate, stuff needs to be taken away. Sometimes I bring it here. I don't care if it matches."

I nodded again. Everything in the Cullen house was perfectly decorated and redecorated with alarming frequency. Jasper could easily furnish a dozen secret caves with Cullen cast-offs.

"Alice must know," he said, "but she's never said anything."

"Talking of which, what did you say to Edward before we ran away?"

Jasper chuckled. "I may have remembered something Alice told me," he confessed, "about what happened to a certain suit of Edward's."

"What suit?"

"The one he was supposed to marry you in," Jadoer said. "He and Alice had a sartorial disagreement. Edward was going to wear a suit she didn't like. Then . . . there was an incident, and he couldn't wear it."

"He looked very nice on our wedding day," I said, "his suit looked fine to me."

"Ah, but that was a replacement suit," Jasper said, "it wasn't the one he'd picked. He ended up getting married in a suit Alice chose. And, now he knows why. They'll be rowing for days."

I laughed. "Are you going to be in trouble?"

"Me? I didn't ruin Edward's suit."

"Well, no. But you did tell on Alice. Won't she be mad?"

Jasper smiled, "she'll get over it. Knowing Alice and Edward, by the time we get back, they'll have moved on to a completely different argument."

"Alice and Edward," I echoed.

Jasper sighed, "mmm," he agreed, "there most definitely is an Alice and Edward."

He must have sensed my panic, because he quickly went on "they're not unfaithful. It's a different bond. They can sort of see each other."

"See one another?" I queried.

Jasper frowned and chewed the inside of his cheek. "It's hard to explain," he said. "Of course, Edward really does see what Alice sees. So, he shares her visions, which is a part of it. Then there's the way they both sort of know things they shouldn't. So they understand each other. And, then, well, they both use their gifts in similar ways. They look out for trouble. They advise everyone on the best steps to take. So, they both see life as something to be designed. Having such similar viewpoints, that binds them. Hang on . . ."

I hadn't completely understood what Jasper was getting at. But all of a sudden, that didn't matter. I looked at Jasper and it was like looking at someone playing me and doing it very well. It was a little uncanny, but also very comforting. As if I had always been alone and now, finally, I was a part of a powerful team. As if I had always mystified others and now, finally, I was fully known.

I stared at Jasper, wondering why I had never noticed this incredible bond before. Then, as quickly as it arrived, it vanished. And it was just me and Jasper again.

"Like that," he said, musing, "hard to describe."

"Oh, you were . . . that was weird."

"Sorry. Should I have asked first?" He bit the inside of his cheek again.

"A warning might have been nice," I said.

Jasper pulled his hand through his hair in a very Edwardian gesture.

"It's fine," I said. I didn't want him to feel bad, he was just trying to answer my question.