Rain lashed relentlessly against the window panes when Prudence opened her bedroom shutters the next morning. The grey clouds that lurked over the house matched her darkened mood. She stood and stared out of the window for several moments, and wondered if she would ever find any peace while the family remained at Cragdale. It wasn’t just Levant who posed a problem; it was the daily responsibility of running such a huge house, with only meagre funds and luck on her side that weighed heavily on her shoulders. By the time she headed off to see the magistrate later that morning, her mood was even darker than the sky. It was bad enough that Robbie had sulked throughout the morning, but her worries were exacerbated by the fact that they had been forced to lock their own mother in her bedroom and leave her alone in the house. To do so, even for a short while, disturbed Prudence greatly, but none of her sisters had wanted to remain at home to look after mother, and Prudence couldn’t bring herself to argue with them.
