she found, to her surprise, a white and gold living room on the ground floor, but a first floor with barely even rough cast walls, as abandoned as a loft the bedrooms were icy cold and prompted no thoughts of either love or sweet sleep Sido, who longed for friends and an innocent and cheerful social life, found on her estate only servants, cunning farmers She filled the big house with flowers, had the dark kitchen whitewashed, oversaw in person the preparation of the Flemish dishes, kneaded cakes with raisins and looked forward to having her first child.