‘The White Lady of Savarin,’ the duke continued with relish, ignoring Héloise’s discouraging expression. ‘The tenth duke, not the most tolerant of husbands, I’m afraid, found his wife in the arms of another man in 1598 and had her locked in the west tower until she died, getting food through a hatch in the ceiling. I can show you the hatch, if you like,’ he offered gleefully. ‘He had her lover executed and hanged from a branch of the tree outside her window where he was sure she could see him. Servants in the château claim to have seen a ghostly form in a long white dress, wandering around at night looking for her lost lover. They call her La Dame Blanche de Savarin.’

‘Right,’ replied Meredith briskly. ‘I wouldn’t put that on your publicity material. I’m not sure prospective brides would go for it.’

‘Fortunately, times have changed,’ agreed the duke, suddenly struck with the realization that this might not be the best sales pitch. He hoped his wife wouldn’t discover he had told them. ‘It’s probably just a myth anyway,’ he added lamely.

‘You haven’t seen her yourself, then?’ asked Jo with a touch of humour.

‘It would take more than a ghost to wake me up in the night.’ He winked. ‘Unless she was trying to get into bed with me.’

They watched him amble off.

Steph turned to Héloise, who was looking appalled by the duke’s failure to grasp modern mores.

‘Héloise is right,’ Meredith threw in tactfully. ‘I can’t picture him on a stairlift. It’d be like seeing Errol Flynn with a walking frame.’

To their surprise, at one end of the enormous room there was a small area that looked almost cosy; that is, if you compared it with Buckingham Palace. The duchess had arranged a more substantial sofa and two large armchairs in front of an enormous marble fireplace adorned with statues of what looked like Neptune and Aphrodite, with a TV to one side and a roaring fire in the hearth.

‘I can just see you curled up on that watching Emmerdale,’ Steph teased Meredith.

‘There are three bedrooms,’ Héloise informed them, ‘each with their own bathroom, and of course, a small kitchen. When there is a wedding taking place, if they are not needed, the duke and duchess can stay up here.’

‘Don’t they feel just a tiny bit imprisoned?’ asked Steph.

‘The upkeep of the château has to be met somehow!’ was the crisp response. ‘It could be far worse. Many châteaux have to open to the public and have people crawling over their bedrooms and opening their drawers to see what aristocrats keep in them!’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right,’ conceded Steph.

‘Can I see the master bathroom?’ asked Meredith. Steph and Jo exchanged a grin. Meredith was known for her extravagant taste in bathroom fixtures.