The sky was cloudy, thick. A grey haze had set upon the vast vineyards of Hedgworth Manor. Morning had just broken yet the expected coldness of a usual winter morning was not present. Lady Charlotte Hamilton was lying wide awake in her bed, strangely warm and restless. The only sounds vaguely heard through the corridors were the servants preparing below. None entering to light the fireplace in her bedroom.
Although she had been comforted by the first news in two months from her lover Charles Robson, she feared his situation. She could not set her mind apart from the thought of something happening to him with England on the verge of war. Her family had just recovered from the marriage of her dear sister Jane to one of the employed winemakers Thomas Morton and she had been accustomed to hearing sad comments of her father's disapproval of the match. It was a great risk secretly having a relationship with Charles Robson. If the secret were to escape the mouths of any of the five who were aware of the correspondence, her Father's wrath would be unavoidable. But, for the sake of Charles, she was not afraid of another forbidden marriage.
The recovery of her family's disgust was as a result of her elder brother Thomas announcing his engagement to Lady Amelia Darray, a lady of wealth, rank and fortune, yet kind and caring unlike some. This was a great delight to the Earl of Highclere, Lord Hamilton, who was so disapproving of his eldest daughter Jane's affairs with a man of such low class and poor wealth, her husband.
That morning, an express post arrived telling some shocking news to affect the entire family. Infact, the whole of Highclere.
