Peter preceded the woman towards the portico , and stood there gazing along the front of the house towards the wing on his left . Meanwhile the woman had stepped up , and had hooked the heels of her boots under a metal bootscraper and , having removed them , was standing by the door in her stockinged feet .

-- It is a pity , said Peter . A shame that it has been let run down .

-- Yes, said the woman .

-- The old girl didn't spend anything on maintenance.

Peter looked askance , and after a moment the woman explained .

_ Previous owner . The previous Lady Nascent .

-- Ah , said Peter . And now it's up to you to do the repairs , my Lady.

It was the woman's turn to look askance for a moment , then she laughed , realising he was not mocking her.

-- Unfortunately true , she admitted.

She reached around to grasp the big brass door knob, partly swung the door open , and then , blocking it for a moment , she spoke formally.

-- Before you cross my threshold , she said , I should introduce myself properly . I am Lady Helen Nascent , third of that line to have complete charge of this house .

Then she added :

-- There 's no need for any further formalities . You can call me Milady if you wish , or ma'am , but I'm quite happy for you to call me Helen . Where I come from we never bothered with titles , and to tell you the truth , I don't feel comfortable with a title -- well , not yet , anyway . I'm just not used to it .

She continued :

-- Now come in and see what you might be up against . You might as well come straight through to the kitchen area . You can wait there while I get rid of these .

She indicated the dangling rabbits , which had leaked some blood , where she had gutted them. Untying them as she moved along through a big hall area with a wide staircase leading up the the next floor , and thence into a spacious kitchen She tossed the bodies onto a big sink

-- I'll change into something less grubby too , she said . There's blood on these . I'll lock this gun away too . Sit down . I won't be long .

-- Would you like me to skin those for you ? asked Peter . That's something I learned to do at home .

_ That would be fine , said Helen .

-- Thinking of making yourself indispensable already ? You'll get on ! Good knife in that top drawer .

-- Got my own , said Peter . Bought it in Switzerland . Very efficient little tool .

He flipped over the first rabbit took out his Swiss knife and slit the skin of the hind legs as the lady watched . As soon as she was satisfied that he knew what he was doing , she left and padded off somewhere into the house .

Peter finished the slitting of the skin , then peeled it back over the carcase to the head , then neatly severed the neck. Checking the still warm body , he found a couple of shotgun pellets embedded in the flesh , and cut them out . The second rabbit was even simpler to skin , being quite young , and by the time Peter had finished with it , and was washing his hands at the sink , the Lady had reappeared in the kitchen doorway, now dressed in a simple tweed skirt and sensible shoes.

She looked at the rabbits and nodded .

-- Good job , she said .

-- Now come with me and I'll show you as much of the rest of the house as will give you an idea of what wants doing .