‘Thought you might turn up sometime,’ Pierre said. ‘How did you know we were back?’

Jeannot gave him a knowing look and said, ‘I keep an eye on the place. Don’t want no one taking advantage of an empty house, do we?’

Pierre agreed they didn’t. Then an idea struck him.

‘Any sign that someone’s been watching the house recently?’ he asked, trying to sound casual.

Jeannot shrugged. ‘Don’t keep a round-the-clock watch, do I?’

‘No, but one of your lads might have seen something, you know, just someone hanging about in the street.’

‘What’s this all about, Pierre?’ Jeannot asked. ‘Them’s not casual questions, are they?’

Pierre, who had been wondering how much if anything to say about Hélène’s predicament, said, ‘No.’

‘So, what’s behind them, then? You expecting a break-in or something? Won’t happen while the family’s here, will it?’

‘No, nothing like that,’ replied Pierre, even as he remembered how a gang of deserters had broken in all those years ago and abducted Hélène. The house had been occupied then. ‘No,’ he said again. ‘It’s just that Miss Hélène has…’ He hesitated.

‘Has what?’ prompted Jeannot.

When Pierre didn’t immediately answer, Jeannot said, ‘Come on, Pierre! What’s up?’

Pierre took his decision. He knew that Jeannot had always been protective of Hélène. There could be no harm in letting him know what had been happening.

‘Miss Hélène was engaged to be married to that Englishman I told you about. The English milord.’

‘She didn’t marry him,’ Jeannot said, clearly with first-hand knowledge of this.

‘No, he didn’t come back from England.’ Pierre explained about Rupert’s marriage, Hélène’s misery and her surprising decision to marry Simon Barnier.

‘Very quick,’ remarked Jeannot.

‘He had been courting her for some time and she was encouraged by her mother to accept him.’

‘Why?’ demanded Jeannot. ‘Was he rich?’

‘His family owns a large estate near to Belair, the St Clairs’ home, but whether he has any money I can’t say. Maybe money problems. Miss Hélène will come in to quite an inheritance on her marriage.’

‘And her ma encouraged her to marry him?’ Jeannot sounded sceptical.

‘I think she thought that it would help put the Englishman out of Hélène’s mind, having her own establishment to run and that.’

‘So, what are you telling me?’

‘A couple of days before the wedding, Barnier took her to look at the house where they were going to live, the Garden House on his family estate. My girl, Annette, is her maid. They knew each other from when they were in the orphanage together. She was with them for decency’s sake, but she wasn’t allowed into the house with them. Barnier told her to wait outside, but it was cold and she actually waited inside the porch.’

Jeannot listened attentively as Pierre described what had happened, both in the bedroom at the Garden House and the threats made by Simon Barnier to Annette if she spoke of what had frightened Hélène.

‘Annette and I suggested that she should tell her parents she’d changed her mind, but she was too afraid of what Barnier would do to her if she did.’