‘He truly loves the place,’ Serena thought shrewdly and was somehow not so apprehensive as she had been of its overpowering size and magnificence. To Lord Vulcan, strange though he was, this place was home even as Staverley had meant home to her.
She had one last glance at the sea and the great cliffs and then the coach turned inwards, leaving the coast road so that they approached Mandrake from the North, driving in through wrought-iron gates and entering what seemed like a huge inner courtyard.
The coach stopped, a footman sprang down to open the door and now Serena felt sweeping over her the tiredness that she had denied. It had been a long journey and apart from that she felt ill equipped to face what lay in front of her.
She pulled her pelisse around her and stretched out her hand
