“You’re snorting like a horse yourself,” Hilary said.

“Have you found any door?”

“No. There’s no door on this side. Only a row of pegs for hats and a rack for whips, but the whips are gone.”

“Is it all panelling?”

“Yes, panelling; with two chairs.”

“The door will be at the back then,” Sard said. “Come to this wall at the back. What is that thing on the wall?”

“It looks like a painting,” Hilary said.

“It is a painting,” Sard said, “but the paint is running on it. And it doesn’t smell like paint.”

“Is there no door?”

“None. None that I can see,” Sard whispered.