"You see,
it is a very large one and most comfortable."
It was, indeed, of good size and well furnished. The bed was in a kind
of alcove, and beyond it was a bath--unlooked-for luxury! One thing,
however, struck me as peculiar. The windows were closed by heavy
shutters, which were barred upon the inside, and the bars were secured
in place by padlocks.
"I shall want to open the windows," I remarked. "Do you always keep
them barred?"
She hesitated a moment, looking a little embarrassed.
"You see, monsieur, it is this way," she explained, at last. "Monsieur
Bethune himself had the locks put on; for he feared that his poor
sister would throw herself down into the court-yard, which is paved
with stone, and where she would certainly have been killed. She was
very bad some days, poor dear. I was most glad when they took her
away: for the thought of her made me nervous. I will in the morning
open the windows, and air the room well for you."
"That will do nicely," I assented, as carelessly as I could. I knew
that I had chanced upon a new development, though I could not in the
least guess its bearing. "What do you ask for the apartment?"
"Ten dollars the week, monsieur," she answered, eying me narrowly.
I knew it was not worth so much, and, remembering my character,
repressed my first inclination to close the bargain.
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