He left one bag at the bottom, planning to return and get it. They began climbing, winding around anti-clockwise. Roy carried a heavy bag with his right hand, gripping the metal handrail with his free left hand. He told Cleo to hold tightly on to the rail, too. There was a real danger of them falling backwards if they let go, he realized. It was that steep.

They climbed on, going round and round. Halfway up, they stopped on a small landing, putting down their bags to have a rest. ‘The view had better be bloody worth it!’ Roy said, panting heavily.

‘This place is a deathtrap,’ Cleo wheezed. ‘I’ve not seen a single fire extinguisher anywhere and—’

She stopped, mid-sentence. Inches above her head was a large, old fuse box, with a handle on one side. An electrical cable, a good inch thick and wrapped in ancient-looking rubber, ran from the bottom of it and into a hole drilled at the back of the staircase.

More cables trailed from the box, thick, heavy-duty flex with the ends exposed, showing old copper strands. It was as if there had once been some major rewiring of the house planned, but then abandoned.

‘This looks like the main fuse box for the house,’ Roy said. ‘At least we know where to come if one blows,’ he said, trying to sound positive.

‘And if a fuse blows, I’ll tell you where you can find me,’ Cleo said. ‘Back in the car, with all bags packed.’

He grinned.

‘It’s not funny, Roy.’

‘Don’t worry, we had a fuse box just like that when I was a child. If a fuse blows, I’ll be able to fix it.’

‘Really? Without frying yourself and burning the house down?’

‘Trust me.’

Roy’s father, also a police officer, had been a DIY expert, rewiring their family home himself – with Roy, then a small boy, helping. He remembered some of what he had done with his dad. It had always been useful. Over the years he’d saved a lot of money on workmen by being able to fix stuff in the house, particularly anything involving the electrics.

Staring at the fuse box, Roy thought there was no way this could have passed any recent safety test. It was truly ancient – thirty or forty years old at least. And their room was above this! It was going to be like sleeping above a bomb. To make it worse, he’d also seen no fire extinguishers anywhere in the house.

Was there a lightning conductor? He doubted it. God forbid the tower got struck in the lightning storm they’d seen in the distance on their way here. But then again, he tried to comfort himself, it had stood here for at least four centuries – and it sure felt robust.