"You are right," I said. "I don't know where to look for them, and I'm not even dead!" Then we started talking about other things.

"And now," he said at last, "tell me about London and of the house which you have found for me." I apologised for not doing this earlier and I went into my own room to get the official paperwork from my bag. While I was organizing the papers I heard the sound of the cups and plates being moved in the next room.

When I came back, I saw that the table had been cleared and the lamp lit, for it was now very dark. The lamps were also lit in the library. I found the Count there. He was lying on the sofa and reading an English railway timetable, though I was not sure why he was doing that. When he saw me, he cleared the books and papers from the table, and together we read through the plans and figures and legal documents for the house. He was interested in everything. He asked me thousands of questions about the house and the area around it. I could see that he had tried to find out everything about the neighbourhood. I remarked to him that he knew a lot more than I did, and he answered.