‘This is the snug,’ Thea says as she shows me a small alcove off the hall. ‘Nice and cosy, but you can use this sitting room if you prefer,’ she says, opening the door to another huge room decorated with wallpaper covered in more huge pink roses. It’s a bit flowery for my taste, but so much more than I expected. ‘And finally, the kitchen.’

I’ve got my own kitchen. I can’t believe it. I noticed this top level when we arrived. It only extends over about half of the floor below, and yet it is bigger than the whole of my house, and the kitchen is so well equipped. I have no idea what to say.

‘Make yourself at home, won’t you?’ Thea says with a smile. ‘There’s just one thing. I mentioned to you that we don’t want people to know you’re staying, if you remember – we don’t want another inspection.’ She shudders dramatically. ‘The cleaning staff come in each morning, but they’re not allowed up here. I’m sure you don’t mind keeping this part of the house tidy, do you?’

‘Of course not. I’ll do any cleaning here – or in the rest of the house – or cooking, or anything I can do to help.’

Thea smiles. ‘It’s very kind of you, but that won’t be necessary. We must make sure the cleaners aren’t aware that you’re here, though, so I hope you don’t mind if I lock the door at the bottom of the stairs in case you forget that you’re not supposed to come down. I think it’s for the best.’

CHAPTER 21

21

I know that locking the door at the bottom of the stairs makes some sort of sense, but what would happen if there was a fire? I was about to ask if she would consider leaving it unlocked and I would pin a note on it to remind me not to go down, but she turned to leave.

‘You settle yourself in. I’ll come back up and collect you in about an hour and take you to see the doctor. He keeps to himself a lot of the time, although he still sees a few patients in his study so you might hear some talking. Obviously his study is out of bounds. Help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen. It’s all there for you.’

Before I could thank her and ask about the door, she was gone. Since then I’ve been trying to take it all in. She was right about the phone – there’s no signal, and no Wi-Fi either, but as I’m not working and nobody seems to want to speak to me, I can’t see that it matters much.