‘I’m sure we’ll be perfectly all right,’ Rosalind said stoutly.

‘I don’t want to worry you, but I suggest you lock your bedroom doors at night.’ Father Laurent backed out of the room and his footsteps echoed eerily on the flagstone floor, fading into the distance.

Rosalind walked over to the bell pull and tugged at it.

‘What are you doing?’ Hester demanded nervously.

‘I want to see our bedchambers. If they are too terrible I’m not staying here a minute longer.’

Chapter Six

‘Well, I suppose the bedrooms will do. At least we’re next to each other.’ Hester slumped down on the sofa. ‘This is the most uncomfortable piece of furniture I’ve ever had the misfortune to sit upon. Those beds didn’t feel much better, and I’m wondering when the sheets were last washed.’

‘It’s only temporary,’ Rosalind said automatically.

‘Well, I don’t think you should have paid all that money. Madame Planche is making a fortune out of us. Even the priest said he wasn’t sure whether he’d done the right thing by bringing us here, and then he told us to lock our bedroom doors.’

‘I know this isn’t what we’re used to, but what choice do we have?’ Rosalind glanced out of the window. ‘It’s terrible weather and at least we have a roof over our heads. We will have to make do, Hester. Perhaps, when it stops sleeting, we could go to that café where we had breakfast and get something to eat.’

Hester opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment the door creaked open and Delfosse shambled into the room. He was carrying a brass coal scuttle, filled with coal, and a sack of logs, which he tipped into a large wicker basket by the fireplace. Rosalind turned away from him as a miasma of stale wine and strange-smelling tobacco smoke threatened to engulf her. Hester pulled a face and moved to a seat by the window while Delfosse attempted to light the fire, his efforts accompanied by grunts and mutterings. Rosalind was glad that her knowledge of French was limited, but it was obvious that his words were not meant for sensitive ears. He succeeded in getting the fire going after a while, although smoke continued to belch into the room, sending a shower of sooty flakes into the air. He struggled to his feet and picked up the sack, eyeing Rosalind with a frown. She attempted to thank him, but he answered with something like a growl and stamped out of the room.

‘I will lock my door tonight,’ Hester said with feeling. ‘And it’s even more important for you to do so, poppet. That man is an animal.’