No wonder the 15th Marquis of Vulcan was proud of his heritage, no wonder he loved every inch of Mandrake, from the ancient Norman Keep which still stood sentinel on the furthest point of the white cliffs, to the exquisite ballrooms and salons added but forty years ago by his mother to the design of Robert Adam.
The 14th Marchioness, Caroline’s grandmother, had been banished from Court because of her insatiable passion for gaming. She had created a Court of her own at Mandrake and reigned there supreme until she had been stoned to death by the smugglers whom she employed to sally forth from the secret caves below the house to procure for her illicit goods from France.
With her death, a raffish, extravagant and exotic era came to an end, and for Caroline Mandrake meant peace, a quiet beau
