—ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON MINERVA WENT OUT of the front door of Mannerling, her eyes narrowing as she saw Rachel, Charles, and the children approaching her across the lawns, looking like a family party. She pinned a smile on her face. She would need to appear all that was amiable, she would need to pretend to like Rachel, and then she would try to pour some poison into Charles’s ears about the plots of the Beverleys. Minerva was wearing a white lace morning gown and another wide-brimmed bonnet. Her white kid gloves were wrinkled in the current fashion and elbow-length. Her white kid shoes peeped out from under her gown. Her hat was of white straw and embellished with white silk flowers. Minerva considered that she now looked the very picture of a virgin. She floated towards Charles, her hands outstretched in welcome. And then Charles shouted, “Look out!” He ran towards her and pulled her roughly to one side as a long scream descended from the heavens towards her. There was a sickening thump behind her.
