Alfred shared Bilton's reluctance to get the landlord involved, though he didn't have any very good reason why. What was he afraid would happen? That the man would raise their rent for the inconvenience of having to have the place de-spooked? That he would declare it uninhabitable and evict them? That he would find the cause of the disturbances, realize it had something to do with one of the two remaining tenants, and file some sort of criminal report?

Actually, yes, all of those were reasonably likely outcomes, now that he thought about it. Alfred might very well have brought something back from somewhere or other that was cursed, even without knowing it. Bilton might have picked something up locally to the same end. And it was anyone's guess whether the landlord would even be able to fix the place. If he couldn't, they would either be back to square one, or worse off than they started, depending on how he reacted to the situation. No, best to leave him out of things unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Yeah," Alfred agreed. "We should do anything we can to fix it ourselves first. No telling what the landlord would even do about it. And if there are disturbances downstairs, it's not as though they're bothering anyone at the moment," he pointed out. "I'll send her an owl and see what she thinks."