Reflected and refracted by hundreds of cut crystals, the light from the chandelier's candles glittered like twinkling stars over the Hawthorne House's formal dining room. Together with the glow of the wall-mounted oil lamps and that from the fire crackling in the corner fireplace, they gave the place a comfortable warmth that could not be diminished by the wind-blown sleet pelting the windows.

Vivianne gazed at each smiling member of the Hawthorne and Mitchell families as they talked ...