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Ravina replied. “Were you, perhaps, going to ask his advice about your racehorses? I believe you have quite a few and have been most successful.”
    â€œYes, indeed. I have a fine string of thoroughbreds, but my knowledge is not as great as your father’s, which is why I came here this morning.”
    He stopped and then ventured,
    â€œAnd are you staying in London while your parents are away?”
    â€œNo,” Ravina replied, walking across the room to sit on a small leather sofa. “I am leaving soon to go to our country estate in Dorset.”
    â€œAh, good,” Sir Michael hesitated, “I was telling your father when we met at our Club last week that my house, which has been in my family for generations, is only about three miles from Curbishley Hall.”
    She smiled politely and he continued,
    â€œMy father was very ill for many years before he died. He and my mother had travelled on business to Australia and he was too ill to return home. So the house was shut up and left.
    â€œI inherited a small racing stable from my aunt and I have lived until now near Newmarket, but when my mother died last year, the Priory became mine.”
    Ravina looked up, her eyes sparkling.
    â€œOh, I know now which house is yours. An ancient building you see when you ride beside our woodlands. But surely the Priory is a ruin?”
    Sir Michael smiled and shook his head.
    â€œIt was, but is no longer. I have been restoring it all year. In fact, another reason for my visit today was to ask your parents if they would like to attend a dinner party I am planning to mark the Priory’s glorious resurrection.”
    â€œI am sure they will be sorry to miss it.” Sir Michael looked up eagerly.
    â€œAs you will be at Curbishley Hall, perhaps you would be my guest?”
    Ravina clapped her hands together.
    â€œOh, thank you, Sir Michael, I would indeed love to see what you have achieved at the Priory. It is so exciting to think it is being brought alive again.
    â€œI can remember as a child being scared to ride past the end of the drive on my pony, even when I had a groom with me. It was always so gloomy, the windows shuttered, the doors barred and the garden filled with weeds. There were rumours that it was haunted. I know I was told dreadful tales by my nursemaid. They scared me into being good.”
    She paused for breath before she added,
    â€œI can remember her saying that ghosts roamed the house and everyone in the nearby village was too frightened to walk past it.”
    Sir Michael gave a hearty laugh.
    â€œThat was true,” he said, “but things have changed considerably in the last year. In fact, you can ask your cousin, Miss Allen. I think she has been most impressed by the progress I have made.”
    â€œDulcie?” Ravina asked, intrigued. “Has Dulcie visited the Priory?”
    â€œOh, it was quite proper,” Sir Michael said hastily. “We met in Rosbourne when I was looking for furniture and she kindly offered to bring me some samples of curtain material. With her help I chose the fabric I wanted and she arranged to have the drapes made.
    â€œI was most grateful to her, and I am sure she will confirm that it would be perfectly safe for you to visit the parts that have been fully restored.”
    Ravina tossed her head.
    â€œOh, well, I am quite certain that I am far braver than Dulcie. If I came to see the Priory, then I would want to see it all, not just the safe areas.”
    Sir Michael smiled at her enthusiasm. She was certainly a very different female to her quiet older cousin.
    â€œPerhaps you will have some ideas for the rooms that I have not yet touched,” he suggested. “Miss Allen – ”
    â€œI certainly have more up–to–date ideas than Dulcie,”Ravina cut in scathingly. “I will be only too pleased to help you.”
    â€œI wonder – ” Sir Michael walked to the window, then turned to face