Last night the guests told each other ghost stories, after which most of the ladies insisted that the gentlemen escort them to their rooms. You’ll be glad to know I did not give in to such girlish silliness and managed to find my own way to bed! On Saturday night – Halloween – there is to be a masked ball, and we’re promised all manner of ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Oh, and we await the imminent arrival of Prince Henri of Cariastan, known as The Forgotten Prince, which is causing even more goose bumps among the ladies than the threat of the supernatural. I haven’t given in to that silliness either. I know you worried about me taking the post as Mrs Oakengate’s companion, but she’s not so bad once you get to know her. At least nothing I can’t handle. You were quite right about her bragging about my parents’ notoriety to our hosts the moment we arrived, but I remembered what you have always taught me. My parents’ crime is not my crime.
