"A little. Look, Miss Pestona at the antiques shop told me this was a nice place. I won't cause you any trouble, I promise." She reached into her wallet to take out what cash remained. "Here, take this."
The old woman glowered at the money for a moment and then took it from Samantha's hand. "Very well. Follow me."
Samantha followed her inside to a spacious parlor with white walls and floors and dark blue furniture to match the old woman's wardrobe. She stopped to motion around the room. "This is the common area, where our guests are welcome to unwind. You will notice there is no television in this room or anywhere else. My husband and I believe a vacation should not be spent in front of the idiot box. If you must have one, there are motels along the interstate where you can find one."
Samantha tried to interject, but the old woman kept talking as she swept through the parlor and into an empty room with a vast marble floor. "This is the ballroom. During the summer we hold dances every weekend. As you may have guessed, the room is not in operation at the moment. A great many popular artists have played in this room, including Glenn Miller and his orchestra some sixty years ago, before his tragic death. I suppose you're far too young to know who that is, but he was very popular before you were born. Now this is the dining room. Breakfast is served at seven o'clock until nine o'clock sharp. Lunch commences at noon until two o'clock and dinner from five o'clock to seven. No exceptions. There is also tea at three o'clock, hosted by myself. Rosalie, our cook, makes the most wonderful crumpets in all of Maine-she came to us directly from England-"
"This is all very nice, but I just want to check in," Samantha finally interrupted.
"Why didn't you say so in the first place? You really should not play games with a woman of my advanced years. Come along then." Samantha followed her to an office with a stately wooden desk and a glossy wooden board with golden keys hanging from individual hooks. The old woman studied the board a moment and then took down a key. From a desk drawer she took out a ledger with gold-trimmed pages. "Sign your name here, my dear."
Samantha considered leaving a fake name, but she doubted the Bureau would think to look for her here. With a shaking hand she signed her name, taking up two lines in the ledger. The old woman frowned at this, but then pressed the key into Samantha's hand. "Your room is down the hall, last door on the left. If you need anything, just give a ring."