Franck was still fumbling around in the old shed; she could hear him moving things about. It sounded like he was rifling through all sorts of things, though she didn’t know what he could be looking for – a bicycle maybe, or tools. Perhaps she should follow his lead and explore every inch of the house, trying to get the objects to reveal their secrets. The attic was the only place she had been curious about. The little wooden staircase that went up to it was not promising and the room itself was full of old, forgotten furniture, a jumble of items including two iron beds and an ancient coffee grinder, but no books, although, strangely enough, there were three whips, long cords of braided leather hanging on the wall like trophies. She hadn’t gone into the old barn by the water tank; she didn’t even know if they had the key. There were many things she hadn’t yet discovered, but there was one thing she was sure of: the house was being let for the first time. She could feel it. There was the mattress that was too new and a bit hard, with its label and plastic wrapping, and then the cutlery that was too old, as well as the glasses and plates – the tableware was far too worn to still be in regular use. Lots of things in the house weren’t quite right: the toilets for a start, with the strange noises the pipes made when the water was running slowly through them, and the circular sockets that didn’t work. If the house had been rented before, people would surely have complained. Having such low pressure in the ancient shower was impractical, not to mention the tin stains on the bathroom mirror, which meant you had to bend down to see yourself, and there were a thousand other details that would have been fixed if there had been complaints or comments on the internet. The old furniture and clapped-out cupboards were the biggest nuisance – the drawers that had to be forced open, as well as the wardrobes that kept their secrets locked inside and the furniture that threatened to collapse at any minute. All the evidence suggested that the house hadn’t been occupied for years and had rarely been opened up or aired out. When she found the advert three months ago, Lise had known instinctively – though she said nothing to Franck – that nobody had rented the property before them, nor lived there for ages. The novelty of it had drawn her in.