Gina remembered to knock on Alice’s door before she was called and a few seconds later she heard her unlock it.
She went in, asking as she did so,
“Did you have a good night?”
“Very good,” Alice replied, “and I really feel like my old self again this morning.”
Gina instinctively glanced over her shoulder just in case somebody was listening.
“I think you should still pretend to be weak,” she proposed.
“I am fed up with being frightened and pretending to be anything but what I am,” Alice said. “And we are lunching with Sir Charles today.”
There was a lilt in her voice, which told Gina that she was excited by the idea.
“Do be careful in front of Mrs. Denver,” she said, “and I have something amusing to tell you.”
“What is it?” Alice asked.
“I slept in the room next door to yours last
