Mount Royal: A Novel. Volume 3 of 3

A damp, grey morning settles over the sprawling grounds of Mount Royal, where the Tregonell household awakens to a ritual of prayers and quiet breakfasts. Christabel tends to her young son while the women—Miss Bridgeman, Miss Vandeleur, and the nervous Dopsy—share a meal that soon turns to whispered speculation. The genteel routine is punctuated by the butler’s arrival with a crisp note that hints at an unsettling change in the household’s rhythm.

The letter announces Mr. Hamleigh’s sudden departure for the South of France, a journey made urgent by his failing health. As the women grapple with his looming death, concerns about his unclaimed estate and the fate of his modest fortune surface, weaving a thread of anxiety through the otherwise placid morning. Their conversations reveal a delicate balance of affection, duty, and the quiet desperation that often follows a coveted inheritance.