Watters had never seen Mount Pleasant so illuminated before. Every tree on the curved driveway was decorated with a lantern, while torches flared at the entrance gates and the main door. Carriages massed in front of the house, outside the stable block, and filled the courtyard. Most of the coaches were modern, with dark paint gleaming under the lights, but Watters saw a pair of open chaises that were entirely unsuitable for night-time travel in a Scottish autumn, a light, low-wheeled calash, and even an ancient cabriolet, with its spokes painted in alternate red and yellow to contrast with the black leather hood. The woman who creaked out of the cabriolet looked as ancient as the vehicle, but she refused assistance to mount the stairs, and she tapped her ivory fan against the footman"s che
