Phantom Fortune Chapter 17 - And the Spring Comes Slowly Up this Way'

In which Lady Maulevrier, confined to a life of helpless solitude amid the bleak winter surroundings of Fellside, reflects upon the loves and losses that have shaped her quiet world, while her granddaughter Lesbia revels in the gaieties and successes of the distant Cannes season. Trusting the faithful stewardship of the long-serving James Steadman, the dowager contemplates the twilight of her existence with a sober acceptance rooted in a materialist creed, as news from London and Paris filters through the channels of family and household intrigue.