“He is out riding, so I have not met him. But Lais was very sweet and introduced me to all the guests who told me how much they admired her.”
Mena helped her mother finish undressing and got her into bed.
“Now try to sleep, Mama,” she said, “and I will wake you in plenty of time so that there will be no rush.”
“Thank you, darling,” Mrs. Mansforde murmured and closed her eyes.
Mena went into the sitting room and stood for a long time at the window.
She wondered, if Lais became the Duchess, whether she would appreciate the beauty of the gardens, the woods that lay behind them and, of course, the great Castle itself.
‘I must see everything I can,’ she told herself.
She then thought that when everybody was at dinner there would be time for her to explore the gardens.
She wondered when
