Cousin Mary

The Prescott family of Horton balances faded grandeur with modest means, living in a house that still bears the imprint of a once‑glorious lineage. Their ancestors once rode with rebellion and royalty, leaving behind a sprawling Elizabethan home that now feels too large for the six people who call it theirs. The squire, a steady‑hand sort of man, maintains the ancestral rooms out of duty and a quiet pride, while his younger brothers drift outward in search of their own fortunes.

Inside, the great hall and a once‑splendid portrait gallery echo with the ghosts of aristocratic visitors, their faded tapestries and chipped frames offering a melancholy elegance. The drawing‑room, with its broad bay windows, still accommodates a banquet for thirty, though the family rarely entertains. It is in this mixture of humbled opulence and lingering self‑respect that the story begins, setting the stage for the characters who will navigate the house’s lingering shadows and the expectations it carries.