This path led across the landing and to a second flight of stairs, but Vera wanted to show off the first-floor bedrooms first. Lots of spacious bedrooms with big windows, most en suite. Lots of dust, no footprints. Again, there were darker patches on the walls showing where pictures and large pieces of furniture had once been. Unexpected additions bellied out from the larger bedrooms, which Ellie thought must be in the turrets that decorated the building. Plenty of built-in cupboards. Linen room. Vera threw open one last door. ‘And this was her own bedroom, with its own wet-room en suite. She liked it because it overlooked the garden and caught the . . .’ Her voice tailed away. Ellie followed Vera’s gaze. The room had been papered in a blue and white Chinese design of peonies. A handmade paper? A square of darker colour on the far wall showed where a large bed had once stood. The design of the wallpaper on either side was smudged. Vera looked uneasy. Almost scared. ‘I don’t understand.
