“I was just being cautious,” I said and tried to walk past it nonchalantly. It wasn’t easy to do, with the empty eye slits in that visor staring at me. I could have sworn those eyes followed me. We reached Queenie’s room, and I flung open the door and turned the light on. It was, as she had described it, spartan in the extreme. A narrow cotlike bed, two shelves, a hook on the wall and an old-fashioned washstand. Not even a jolly picture on the wall to cheer things up.

“Well, there’s certainly nowhere to hide in here,” I said. “And I can’t see any reason why anyone would want to come in here, either.”

“Me neither, miss. Unless he was just ducking in here because he didn’t want to be seen.”

“Queenie, you’re surprisingly bright sometimes,” I said.

“Really, miss?” She sounded surprised. “My old dad says I must have been twins because one couldn’t be so daft.”

I went across to her window, opened the single shutter and looked out. Moonlight had turned the snow into a magical scene—deep and crisp and even sprang to mind. The only sound was the sigh of the wind around the turrets, then I thought I detected from far away a howl. It was answered by another howl, close by, this time. And I thought I saw a wolf slinking into the forest.

Of course my mind went straight to werewolves. If vampires appeared to really exist, then why not other creatures of the underworld? This was, after all, Transylvania. Was it in any way possible that the man Queenie had just encountered had now climbed down the castle wall and transformed himself into his wolf form? Or did that only happen at the full moon? The sensible part of me, that sound Scottish upbringing, was saying “rubbish” very loudly in my head, but on a night like this, in a place like this, I was prepared to believe anything.

As I leaned out farther and looked around I saw something snakelike and gleaming in the moonlight, dancing close to me with a life of its own. I leaped back until I realized that it was only a rope, hanging down the wall. If someone had climbed up here, he had been aided and abetted by a person already in the castle. And if someone had entered this way, he had gone again.

“You’re right, Queenie. There is no sense in standing around getting cold,” I said. “I’m sure your mystery man is long gone. I’m going back to bed.”

“Can’t I come with you, miss?” She grabbed at my nightie sleeve. “I can’t sleep up here, all alone, after what happened. I know I wouldn’t sleep a wink. Honest.”

“You want to come downstairs to my room, with me?”