'One day I was in his library, dusting, as I had to do every week, and found a book lying on the floor, which I picked up to put back on the table. I opened it to see what it was, in case it was some law book which should go on his desk, and saw it was a novel. Balzac, it was, Père Goriot. Have you read it?'

I nodded.

'It changed my life forever,' she said simply. 'Such things do happen, although it was very unexpected. I had never read much; it had been forbidden, apart from prayer books. They did not see why we should have to read as our task in life was to work and obey. They only taught us with reluctance. So I hardly had any idea what stories were until that moment, when I read that first sentence: "Madame Vauquer, née de Conflans, est une vieille femme . . ."

'I was transfixed by it, could not stop myself reading. I read as quickly as I could, skipping over the words I did not understand. I had fallen into another world and did not want to leave it. You must have felt that in your life? Everything else vanished, there was just this story, which I could not leave.

'I had to, of course; eventually the most senior maid came in and saw me, and clucked around me and scolded me terribly for my impertinence. She didn't hit me, that did not happen in that house. But I got a good talking to.

'I couldn't care less. If that was sin, then I was ready for hell. All I could think about all day was how to get back into the master's library to find it again. I couldn't sleep that night. We all went to bed in the attic, all four women in one tiny room and normally the snoring didn't bother me. That night it drove me mad, and when I was sure that everyone in the house was asleep, I got out of bed, and tiptoed down the servants' staircase. It was icy cold, I remember, and I had bare feet which were numb by the time I got down to the family quarters. It didn't matter; I found the book, sat in the armchair by the fire and read.

'You have been educated, I know. Books to you are commonplace, something you take for granted. But for me such books were like a weary traveller in the desert finding an oasis. I was fascinated, excited, thrilled. I had stepped into another world, full of extraordinary things and people. I fell in love with Rastignac and saw in him the first glimmerings of my own ambition. He had nothing and wished to conquer Paris. He taught me that sweetness and kindness would serve me little. Yet he kept a goodness that could not be corroded by the world. Books taught me of friendship and loyalty, of betrayal and how to suspect others. And it taught me to dream, of worlds and people and lives that I had never thought existed.'

She stopped as she recaptured, very briefly, the joy of that discovery, one of the moments in her life which would be an unalloyed treasure for the rest of her life. Whatever else had happened to her, would happen to her in the future, she had that moment of enchantment in a chair, with cold feet and a spluttering candle.

'I read almost until dawn, then made myself go back up the stairs to get some sleep. I should have been exhausted the next day, so tired I could hardly move. But I wasn't; I was exhilarated beyond imagining. It was like a first love. It was a first love, with Rastignac and the way we had met.

'But I now embarked on a life of crime. I could not do it every night, as even my young body could not manage to go without sleep forever, but every night I could manage I slipped down those stairs to read. I read more Balzac, everything I could discover in the library, tried Victor Hugo, Flaubert. I was so moved by the fate of poor Madame Bovary I wept for days afterwards, and felt myself in mourning.

'After a week, though, a very strange thing happened. I came down, and discovered a new book on the table. Stendhal, and a thick blanket on the chair. I was frightened, a little, but the temptation was too great, so I wrapped myself up warmly and settled down. I devoured the book as I had all the others, and wished I knew people as interesting as the Duchess of Sanseverina, or as dashing as Fabrizio. A few nights later, when I had nearly finished it, I found another one on the side table, and a glass of milk.

'And so it went on, until one night, as I stretched over to wrap myself up more comfortably, I knocked the glass over. Milk spilled over the rug, and there was a terrible noise as the glass broke on the floor. It was still early; I had begun to take more chances, and was coming down earlier and earlier. There were still people awake. I panicked, as I knew I would be thrown out of the door if I was discovered. There were footsteps coming down the corridor. And then I heard footsteps in the room itself. It was one of those rooms where there were so many books that the shelves went up to the ceiling, and a ledge had been built halfway up the wall, with a little iron staircase leading up to it. It was down this that Dr Stauffer was now coming.

'"Quickly," he said in a quiet voice. "Up the stairs, and hide behind the desk. Keep quiet."

'In one little corner was a small desk which I had never seen used. It was always covered in piles of paper which were never moved.

'I stared at him, and he gestured at me urgently to do as I was told. With seconds to spare, I fled up the steps, and crouched down behind the papers. The evening maid, whose duty it was to close up the house for the night, knocked and came in.

' "It's quite all right," he said. "I'm afraid I knocked over a glass. Please don't worry about it. It's late, and I am working."

'The maid nodded and withdrew. The door shut, and I heard it being locked.

' "You can come back down now. It's quite safe."

'He had a gentle voice, not the voice of someone who was going to throw me out into the night, but nonetheless I was petrified, shivering from fright and cold.

' "Stand by the fire and warm yourself," he said. "And don't be frightened. I'm not going to eat you."

'I began to stammer out an apology, which he brushed away. "I have been keeping an eye on you for several days," he said with a faint smile. "I wondered who was moving my books, but as nothing went missing, I didn't mind. Then two evenings ago I was up there, working, and I saw you come and curl up on my chair. I thought it was so charming I couldn't bring myself to disturb you. And very curious, too. Why do you spend so much time reading?"

'I did not really trust myself to answer. "I can't stop myself," I said eventually.

'The answer seemed to please him. "And which of those books did you like the most?"

'I felt like saying all of them. "The ones with Rastignac in."

' "Really? You don't find stories of young girls finding true love more appealing? Why do you like Rastignac?"

'"Because he is trying to make something of himself."

'He seemed to find this reply quite fascinating, and he came across the room, sat opposite me and stared hard at me. "How extraordinary," he said. "How remarkable. Well, well . . ."

' "I'm truly sorry, sir . . ."

' "What for?"

' "For my impertinence."

' "No, you are not. At least, I very much hope you are not. Are you?"

'"No."

' "You notice that this room of mine is terribly untidy and messy? Not to say dusty?"

'I looked around, and could not see a book or ornament out of place.

And as for dust, I don't think there was a single speck anywhere.

' "I think that what I need is someone to tidy it up more often. Once the job is done, there would be no reason why that person could not fill up the remaining hours reading a book. As long as they put it back in its proper place again. Once they were finished. Can you think of anyone that might suit?"

'I could hardly believe what he was saying. "Oh, sir . . ."

' "Would you be so kind as to assist me, do you think?"

'I never knew that anyone could feel such happiness as I felt just then. The idea that I could spend hours a day in that room, just reading and tidying, made me want to skip and sing as I went back up the stairs. It was beyond my wildest dreams, and it was not a dream. I was given my instructions the next day by the head maid, and told to watch myself. Be quiet, be obedient. For once I intended to do just that.