Oxfordshire is the setting associated with Willowbrook, Isobel Davenport’s home and the place where her relationship with Dominic Cavendish begins. It later becomes the point of departure from which she is taken away: the county’s importance lies in the contrast between the home where she is first known and the sudden loss of control over her own future there.

Willowbrook and Dominic’s delayed arrival

Dominic’s visit to Willowbrook was delayed by his uncle’s death and the time needed to settle the uncle’s failing estates. After returning from war, Dominic had also faced family expectations that he marry and establish a household. When Peter Davenport’s invitation finally brought him to Oxfordshire, Dominic met Isobel, whose character and company drew him into a sustained attachment. Peter had introduced them after the two men became friends while fighting the French; his frequent accounts of Isobel had helped Dominic endure the death and destruction of the battlefield.

Dominic stayed with Peter and Isobel at Willowbrook for several weeks. The necessity of returning to his own estate eventually separated him from Isobel, and he was surprised by how painful the departure proved. Once away, he found himself unhappy without her humour and smiles, and eventually sought an excuse to visit her again. In this part of the story, Oxfordshire is not simply a destination: it is the home setting in which their connection becomes personal and the separation that follows acquires emotional weight.

The home from which Isobel is taken

The security of Willowbrook is later overturned by Rupert, who claims guardianship over Isobel and removes her from her aunt Elspeth’s care. When Peter and Dominic return to Willowbrook after events in Norfolk, they find Elspeth distressed and the household staff confused. Isobel has already been taken away in an unmarked carriage, and nobody at the house has heard from her since. Elspeth had been threatened when she objected to Rupert’s actions, leaving the household unable to prevent the removal.

Isobel later recalls that she had been with Elspeth for only two and a half weeks before Rupert arrived. He told her that Peter had died and that this made him her guardian. When Isobel resisted leaving Willowbrook, Rupert threatened that Elspeth should be sent to an asylum. Isobel agreed to go after securing his promise that Elspeth could remain at the house for the time being. Given little time to pack, she insisted that Kitty accompany her as her maid. Her departure was therefore shaped not by a freely chosen move but by false news, pressure concerning Elspeth, and the abruptness of Rupert’s arrangements.

Narrative role

Oxfordshire links the beginning of Dominic and Isobel’s relationship to the later rupture of Isobel’s domestic life. Willowbrook first offers a setting for an extended visit and the gradual growth of affection; later, its household becomes the place where Peter and Dominic discover that Isobel has vanished and hear how Rupert used his claimed authority to take her. The shift from welcome to absence makes the home itself a measure of what has been lost.

The narrative also distinguishes Willowbrook from the places connected with Isobel’s subsequent confinement and escape. Oxfordshire is established as the location of her family home, not as a general setting for every later revelation about her captivity or the disputed marriage claims. Its significance is concentrated in that contrast: it is where Dominic first knows Isobel, and where the consequences of Rupert’s intervention become visible to her family.