The front door in the new part was reached by a flight of dazzling white steps.

From this, a veranda ran across the front of the cottage, its rustic posts supporting rose-trees and ivy.

On the cottage side appeared an old garden, but the new wing was surrounded by lawns and decorated with carpet bedding.

A gravel walk divided the old from the new, and intersected the garden.

At the back, Susan noted again the high brick wall surrounding the half-completed mansion.