The Valley of Decision Book I - The Old Order - Section 1.2

In which a young boy, newly arrived at his mother's illuminated palace amidst the silent ducal streets, encounters the bustling life and the subtle tensions of a house marked by loss and troubled finances. Guided by a sharp-faced hunchback servant, he discovers the splendid and somber gardens, where the splendour of artful nature merges with the shadows of mortality and whispered histories.