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What was precisely wrong with Alice Vaughan was never known. She had a delicate constitution that was generally accepted. She had suffered from every childhood illness worse than anyone and a lack of proper muscular development had caused her to occupy most of her time sitting about. In compensation for her bad health, she was very intelligent. She read incessantly for a girl of nineteen and coped with all the disappointment by having a sweet nature.

Her father had always valued success and thought her physical drawbacks outweighed everything. The Vaughans lived at Barton Hall, one of the more well-known mansions in Dorset. They came from a very distinguished family and their founder, Lord James Vaughan, had built on a very large scale when he had decided to settle there.

Added to this, and to a great extent ameliorating the shock of Alice's ill-health was the fact that she was the last of seven children. She had three brothers and three sisters. They were all much older and had left to live in their own homes. There had been the usual little upsets and arguments as they were growing up together. Mr Vaughan had a rather stern nature and had been strict with them, but on the whole, he had been pleased.

Alice had never seen her eldest brother. He had been an outspoken young man called George whose auburn hair glinted from the portrait at the head of the main staircase. He had argued fiercely with his father when Mr Vaughan had arranged for him to marry for the sake of the huge fortune, necessary for the future running of the property. George had been obliged to give up his own choice and had rushed off after the wedding to live in the north and never saw his father again.

The three sisters, whom Alice had only known as infrequent visitors, came next. They were all old enough to have been her own mother. They were devoted to each other and had married three friends, forming a family within a family

The second brother was still too old to be recalled by Alice, except in his own portrait, situated as was only right, in a lower position. He, according to repute, had a similar nature to George's and had got on with his father by avoiding him.

Alice's last brother was the only one she could remember as being at home. There was a full eleven years between them but he had not married until she was fifteen and had always been affectionate.

Frederick stood out in the family. He was very good-natured in a hale fellow, well met, not particularly clever, sort of way. He had the common touch and was popular. His father was intrigued by his cheerfulness and had made an exception out of him. His mother loved him very much and was pleased he was the favourite. Mr Vaughan would never admit whether he had been affected by his upsets with George but they seemed to have made him a little gentler.

Fortunately, Frederick had chosen the right bride. At twenty-six, he had married Lady Mary Fitz-Gerald. She was the younger daughter of an extremely influential family, which had delighted Mr Vaughan. Two of his daughters had married baronets but the daughter of a duke had exceeded his expectations. His engagement gift to them was a well-crafted scroll depicting the union of the two ducal houses.

After Frederick's marriage, Mr Vaughan's last hopes in that direction faded. It had not occurred to him that Alice would ever be well enough to marry, but it was in his nature to control and her days were spent under his regime. The grounds were the limit of her world, although once she had been taken to look at the river. She was by now well enough to walk about slowly but she was not allowed to be outside alone in case she fell. Even if she wished to commune with nature at the start of a beautiful summer's day, she had to be accompanied.

In the mornings, she was escorted by the lady who had been her governess and in the afternoons, she was given other company. She had always used a walking stick to help her feel safer and less exhausted. Recently it had been rarely needed because she was becoming much stronger and Mrs Friars had tried to encourage her to discard it.

Mr Vaughan was far too involved to realise his daughter was improving. He was known for his sharp tongue and it was his custom to declare how surprised he was with her health when he was irritated..

Mrs Vaughan was good-hearted and used to stop him complaining by reminding him of all the pleasant things in their lives. This was the right tactic because Mr Vaughan liked any excuse to talk about his family. He had never doubted that he was great and occasionally would prove it by inviting the leading farmers and tradesmen to dinner.

This condescension took place once a year and otherwise his entertaining was marked more by the number of titles sitting down with him. When he wished to extend his dinner parties more modestly, he usually invited the Crewes. The Reverend Crewe was the Vicar of Woodley and it was widely thought that he had been given the living because Mrs Crewe was the natural daughter of Mr Vaughan's uncle. To support this theory, there was a fairly good resemblance between them.

Mrs Crewe had an interesting background. She had spent her childhood in a small villa on the estate and when she was eighteen, Mr Vaughan happened to see her and invited her to Barton Hall. She made a number of new friends and two years later, she met her husband. The Reverend Thomas Crewe had been looking for a living since his ordination. He had learnt from his aunt that Mr Vaughan was finding it difficult to dispose of the living of Woodley because it was valuable and the large Vicarage needed someone with a private income.

The previous year Thomas Crewe had inherited a good income from rented property. The Vaughans thought he was suitable for their cousin and decided to waive the purchase price. They encouraged Miss Dyson, as Mrs Crewe was then known, to see a lot of Mr Crewe. The young people became good friends, which in time led to marriage and the area received its new incumbent.

The Crewes thrived under the protection of the Vaughans, but it could not answer every problem. In all, they had six children. The first, a son, was healthy, but they lost all the others in infancy. John Crewe survived and eventually became a fine looking young man. His parents had invested a great deal of love in him and when he was nineteen, he went to Oxford. John knew everyone was expecting him to follow his father into the Church and had made it clear he had no vocation. He knew he could enter the ministry merely for the way of life and had considered it, until he reached the decision that his belief and inclination did not make him a good enough example. There was nothing of low standard about John. His character was good and he was intelligent. He also had a sense of humour but nobody had ever persuaded him against his will. With the Church ruled out, the Reverend Crewe had looked about for another type of career and had mentioned his long search at Barton Hall. Mr Vaughan had never regretted that he had acknowledged his connection with the Crewes and thought he might be able to help them.

The position at his disposal lay in estate management. Barton Hall did not provide the majority of Mr Vaughan's income, but was a very large property. It yielded about two thousand per annum from its own lands, the tenant farmers and the shops in the nearby village of Woodley.

For many years the estate had been run by an efficient Agent called Mr Lewis. He now wished to retire and Mr Vaughan thought John would make a good replacement. He sent for the Reverend Crewe and described the position. That afternoon, John and his father sat in the Vicarage study examining the offer carefully. John was logical and good at organisation. He believed he had the right qualifications and temperament for the job. In a few days, he was installed as Mr Lewis's trainee and eighteen months later, the old gentleman had retired to Bath.

This further notice of the Crewe family had caused a temporary resurgence of the talk about the connection between them and the Vaughans. The congregation had stared at John in Church for a while. His father was disappointed because he could imagine what they were thinking.

The people of Woodley would not have listened to any suggestion that John had deserved the chance. They were absorbed by everything to do with the Vaughans. Lord James had built Barton Hall near the village on purpose. Woodley High Street led down into Vaughan Lane which ran around the borders of the estate. The main gates to the Hall were situated at the village end and led to a long drive going up to the principle entrance. The gates were made of ornate wrought iron. They had an impressive coat-of-arms in each centre and huge pillars on either side, topped with recumbent lions. The complete structure of the entrance had been designed to proclaim the remarkable heritage of the Hall. It was obvious to everyone who passed but especially to the occupants of the Agent's house which, for some reason, had been built opposite.

When the Lewis family moved to Bath, Mr Vaughan had offered this property to John Crewe. It was a pleasant little building on three floors, counting the attics. It had four bedrooms, a central hallway and a handsome front door. It was the right size for a single man because it was much smaller than the Vicarage. John had already decided to stay with his parents and Mr Vaughan agreed that he might let it.

No-one felt this decision more than Alice Vaughan. It stimulated her imagination more highly that her reading had done for some time. She had none of the usual distractions of her age and spent the greater part of each day in her father's library. She hardly ever poured over pattern books and dressed simply in darker colours, as if pale, feminine ones would be wasted on her. Her mother thought she would have been pretty apart from her health, but believed the plainer look more sensible.

A few mornings later, Alice had the opportunity to indulge her curiosity over the identity of the person taking up the lease .She came across John Crewe in the grounds as she was walking with Mrs Friars and remembered with satisfaction that she had already primed her companion to make enquiries.

\"How is your search for tenants going, John,\" the old lady had duly said.

\"It is going remarkably well,\" he replied smiling. \"Mr Lewis has written to recommend a family called Ennersley. Apparently Mrs Lewis got to know Mrs Ennersley at the Pump Room and they soon became close friends. The Ennersleys were looking for somewhere to live and she advised them to consider Woodley. I am dealing with Mrs Ennersley herself at present. I don't think there is a Mr Ennersley, not of senior rank anyway. They are coming in a little while. We have one or two things to settle and then they will be here.\"

\"A family,\" said Mrs Friars.

\"Yes, a family of four I believe. Mr Lewis speaks highly of them. He thinks his old house will suit them very well.\"

Alice was fascinated by the thought of new people coming to the area and it enlivened her life for quite a while.

Then, one morning, a fortnight later, she and Mrs Friars were walking down the front drive when she saw a wagon arrive in Vaughan Lane and pull up in front of the Agent's house. The dray was laden with furniture and they stopped to watch while it was unloaded onto the front lawn.

A short time later, a trap came along carrying two servants. The elder, a respectable-looking woman, got down and stared at the house, shaking her head at it. Then the girl with her got out and stood beside her. They walked up the path and gazed up at the at the legend over the door which said; 'The Agents Cottage.'

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