It gave her a view of the crescent-shaped bay and the beach. The rooms had for generations been the master’s suite at Hollihocks. The place in the house and the view that she had always coveted but had never dreamed would one day be hers. The house was a hive of activity. Her instructions to the staff had been, ‘Put it back together again, the way you know it.’ And then she had distanced herself from it all. Secluded herself in her bedroom. Not her return, nor even that Hollihocks should be hers, but that Cressida should feel she truly belonged somewhere was to her something extraordinary. A lost soul who no longer had to wander the world looking for a place to rest. Cressida felt neither sadness nor pain, not even bitterness. What she felt was release. A sailing yacht circled the point and headed in across the bay. Coming in all standing, she looked magnificent. It made Cressida’s already happy heart sing even louder. It was several minutes before she realised it was the Sea Hawk.
