She was tall and elegant, and even in advanced years she still carried herself with an awareness of her beauty. A few lines of age marked her otherwise flawless skin and her fiery, red hair that swept back over her shoulders in thick lush waves was tied with a simple ribbon.

Charlotte recognised her immediately; it was Lady Constance, Sir Wystan's mother. The widow of Sir William Ainsley who was once lord of Mellester Manor.

With her present situation temporarily ...