The travel agent 17/21

Eve went upstairs to be shown her room. Bare wooden beams and roof trusses supported the ceiling which sloped down towards the outside wall, broken by only a single dormer window. A table stood on the bare floorboards against one wall, carrying the sort of companion set that she was used to seeing in antique shops.

Unfortunately this one appeared to be intended for use. There was a basin located in a hole cut in the table top, with a small piece of coarse looking soap resting in a recess in the rim. A pitcher full of water stood next to it, while on a shelf underneath was a large bowl intended for the slops. A rather discoloured mirror completed the table stand.

The only other furniture in the room was the bed and Eve was beginning to have uncomfortable feelings about what she was going to find there. She wasn’t too far wrong! The bed itself looked quite inviting, but as she’d suspected the mattress was filled with feathers. At least the sheets looked clean. Oh well, there was nothing else for it, she lay down on top of the bed and was asleep long before George came back after seeing to his horse.

Next morning Eve was woken up by a loud bang on the door. “Breakfast in ten minutes!” someone shouted and then clumped back down the stairs.

She groaned as she got out of bed. She was aching all over, after walking for nearly the whole of the day before. She had a chilly splash in her basin before realising it was still very dark and thinking to look at her watch.

It was six o’clock in the morning! She was tempted to get back into bed, but then thought that she might miss her breakfast. Breakfast won and she went down to the bar in a rather cross frame of mind.