She stared at the door and now the tears had gone from her eyes and were replaced by another expression.

For a moment she stood still, thinking.

And then, as if her mind was made up, she went to one of the trunks that stood in the corner and started to search through it

Most of her luggage had been taken away after it was unpacked, but this trunk contained many things that had belonged to her mother and, although she knew that she was never likely to want anything from it at The Castle, she could not bear for them to be out of sight.

She found what she was seeking, drew it out and set it down on the bed. Then she crossed the room to the wardrobe, opened it and after some deliberation chose a dress.

She dressed herself slowly and methodically in a gown of black chiffon with a cloud of white net framing her shoulders.

It was an exquisite expensive dress that had belonged to her mother and made her look a little older and at the same time lifted her from the class of a quiet demure Governess to that of an elegant woman of fashion.

She went to the dressing table and swept her hair high on her head, arranging it not as she had always worn it herself, but as her mother had worn hers with a style that had been essentially her own.

Then, with fingers that were cold but did not tremble, Carina opened her jewel case, took out her mother’s pearls and clasped them round her neck.

She wanted to cry as she put them on and yet her lips were set in a hard line and about her chin there was a determination and strength that few people had seen before.

Then proudly, as if she was going to a ball or a distinguished assembly, Carina crossed the room and, bringing out a chair, set it exactly opposite the door.

With a glance at herself in the mirror, she walked towards the bed and picked up what lay there.

It was a box set with mother-of-pearl, a beautiful piece of workmanship, which Carina remembered had lain in a glass case in the drawing room at their house in London.

“It was given to me by the Grand Duke Ivor of Russia,” her mother had told her in a soft voice. “Your father and I had been visiting St. Petersburg and, when we came to depart on the long journey home, the Grand Duke brought me this box and put it into my hand.

“‘Madam,’ he said, ‘I hope that you never have to use what this contains, but I should feel happier if you had it with you for your protection against wolves or even two-legged enemies.’ Your father and I laughed at him for his fears, but I have always treasured it.”