Go to your room?

You follow Madame Josephine up the flight of stairs to the second floor.

There is a wide corridor and you notice there are doors to at least eight rooms, each with a number. The Madame opens Number Four and escorts you in.

The room looks very lavishly decorated with scarlet velvet curtains, purple and blue wall hangings, attractive paintings--mostly of nude women--and small statuary. Your bed is a four-poster with a green silk canopy. There's even a small fireplace. A door to your left leads to a bathroom where you can just see what is probably a large, deep tub surrounded by beautiful, flowered tiles.

"It is to your liking?" inquires Madame Josephine.

"Yes, thank you," is your reply.

"Eh bien--well then, if you need anything at all, I shall be downstairs. Please, enjoy your stay with us."

"Merci--thank you." That's probably the only French word you understand and you wish you had an opportunity to learn the language. But it's a good thing Madame Josephine speaks English.

She smiles and nods to you, leaves and closes the door.

You put the suitcase you've brought with you on the bed, open it and remove the clothes. You take them to a tallboy and put them inside the drawers.

After you close the last drawer, you glance around the room again and happen to notice a couple of things you didn't see before. On the wall, you see what looks like a small rip in the wallpaper. Rather odd, you think, since the room seems to be in such a well-kept condition. And there is a card on the bedside table.

And, at the same time, you hear a soft rustling sound come from the closet. A rat? You shudder and remember how several people you knew died after they'd been bitten by rabid rats in England.