So we did. And when I’d looked in the copper to see if there was any hot water, and he’d ladled it out for me and refilled the copper from the well while I started to wash, he found a cloth and stood beside me in the candle-lit scullery and told me everything he knew. He worked well, too—quick and efficient and tidy. I liked him more and more. He stacked the plates properly and gave the knives and forks a good rub.

I listened without interrupting, and then I told him all I knew, and he listened without interrupting me. When I heard that Count Karlstein was planning to give me to Zamiel if he couldn’t find Lucy, I shivered with fear; but when I heard that he’d treated Snivelwurst just as I’d done, I laughed out loud.

“But what it all boils down to,” he said, when we’d finished and sat down by the fire, “is that we know where Miss Davenport is, and we think we know where Miss Charlotte is, but we don’t know where Miss Lucy is, or where Doctor Cadaverezzi is; and Miss Davenport doesn’t know where Miss Lucy is, and Doctor Cadaverezzi doesn’t know where I am, and neither of the girls knows that Miss Davenport’s here at all, or that Count Karlstein’s still prowling about somewhere in the village, and—”

“I’ve lost track,” I said. “We’ve got to find out if Charlotte’s escaped—that’s the main thing.”

“But why?” he said. “I thought you put the key in her soup. She must have got out by now.”

“But then Frau Muller found me in her parlor with the tray in my hand—they might have guessed what I was doing, and found the key! Or she might have been caught on the way out!”

“Hmm. Well, anyway, I reckon we ought to find Lucy first. I reckon that’s the most important thing. Because—”

“No, because at least she’s still free, so Count Karlstein hasn’t got her, has he? But Charlotte may be still in the tower. So we might have to get her out—”

“We’ll have to find Doctor Cadavarezzi—”

“We’ll have to keep clear of the count—”

“We’ll have to get into the castle—”

“We’ll have to look in the mountain guide’s hut—”

“We’ll have to see Miss Davenport,” we both said together. And we looked at each other across the old kitchen table, with the little candle burning low and the last ashes of the fire settling in the hearth, and reached out our hands and shook them solemnly.

“Now?” he said.

“Now,” I said.