“Where are we going?”

The stairs went on and on. Ian had foolishly ignored the reception rooms on the first floor, the floor of the main rooms, and continued to climb the narrower and narrower steps of the old staircase. 

Eden looked around as they crossed another landing, then another. Corridors, doors... It would take her a while to explore it all.

“Would you like to rest for a while?”

The staircase ended there, on a dusty landing between two corridors. Toby, the little terrier, had followed them and was sniffing the tiled floor, wagging his tail.

“No, it's great exercise, I guess... It was nice to let off a...