Frankly, no

Adam reaches Nathalie's room in record time, clambering up the stairs excitedly and nearly running down the corridor hung with portraits of dead ancestors. He simply can't wait to show Nathalie his success.

When he gets to her room, he comes to a sudden stop. The door is open, which is a bit weird. He thinks that maybe Lady Chapham or the swarthy man has found that he has escaped his cell in the library room. He approaches the doorway quietly and peers in.

Nothing. No sign of Nathalie. Her old school uniform is still laid out neatly on the bed. The book on Vikings lies on the floor, as if dropped suddenly.

A toilet visit, he thinks? But no, of course not. Nathalie has an en-suite bathroom just like everyone else in Chapman Hall, and he can see that the door is open.

He pauses and thinks. Has she run away to escape the spanking? Surely not, it's the early hours of the morning.

Faintly, in the distance, he thinks he hears a cry. He creeps down the corridor towards it, past an ancient suit of armour that casts an ominous shadow in the moonlight streaming in from the window.

He reaches the bottom of the spiral staircase that leads up to Lady Chapman's room. There, he thinks - another cry. It could be Nathalie. And then the sound of a heavy door closing.

He stands at the bottom of the staircase, undecided. Then he slowly climbs them. At the top of the stairs he creeps along to the map room door.

Outside the map room, lying on the floor, is a simple white dress. It has been torn at the straps and ripped at the blouse. Nathalie's dress? He thinks. What is she doing? Inside he can hear voices, but they are indistinct.

Gingerly, he pushes open the map room door, just wide enough to slip quietly inside.