As the ballad drew to its heart-wrenching close with Jeannie dying on her wedding day, a huge blast from the ship’s horn rent the air. A cheer went up from the passengers and those on the quay waving them off. Pennies rained down on the singers, who launched into a rousing anthem that sounded vaguely rebellious. Handkerchiefs were raised. Children were hoisted onto their father’s shoulders to wave. The ropes that tethered the steamship to the quay began to strain before they were untied from the bollards and thrown adroitly to the waiting crew on the fore and aft decks. And with a second loud blast from her horn and a huge billow of black smoke, the RMS Munster began to edge her way out of the protective arm of Holyhead Harbour headed for Kingstown, near Dublin.

Margaret clung to the railings, ignoring the tears which mingled with soot from the funnels, stinging her eyes. It was her first sea voyage and, though Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, she felt as if she were travelling abroad. Under different circumstances she would have been excited beyond belief, but instead she felt numb, her only emotion a vague sense of dread about what lay ahead when she landed.

Powerscourt was located just south of Dublin. Lady Londonderry’s son had inherited it when he was a child and had devoted much of his adult life to restoring and enhancing the massive house and gardens, according to Mama. He had married Lady Julia Coke two years ago, but spent most of his time abroad, leaving his young wife alone to come to terms with her new position. Lady Julia was twenty-two, just over two years older than Margaret. Lady Londonderry, Mama had confided, had for some months been concerned that her daughter-in-law was feeling neglected and rather lonely. Unable to deter her son from travelling, she had leapt at Mama’s suggestion that Margaret provide her with some much-needed company. Or so Mama claimed.

Margaret wasn’t convinced. If she was an abandoned bride stuck on a vast estate in a foreign country, would she welcome a complete stranger into her home? There was no guarantee they would be compatible. Yet it could have been so much worse, she supposed, reading between the lines of all Mama had not said in the weeks since her father’s ultimatum. If it had been left to the duke, she could have ended up in Timbuctoo.