She adored the countryside and the woods in spring held a fascination that was irresistible. She found there was for her a special magic, which seemed more intense than anything that happened in the everyday world outside. She could not explain it to herself. As she was an only child she had never had anyone to share her thoughts with. Her parents, who were now both dead, had been so content with each other that although they adored their daughter, she could not enter into their world of love. After her father was killed fighting in the Sudan, Della and her mother had kept house for his brother in London. He was Lord Lainden, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the British Government. He therefore spent a great deal of time abroad and was delighted to have his sister–in–law and her small daughter keep, as he said, his ‘house warm’.
