The three little explorers, and their two adult outriders, returned to the 
great house shortly. Lord Finkle-McGraw's desolate private moor was as 
alienated from the tastes of little girls as single malt whiskey, Gothic 
architecture, muted colors, and Bruckner symphonies. Once they had reached it 
and found that it was not equipped with pink unicorns, cotton candy vendors, 
teen idol bands, or fluorescent green water slides, they lost interest and 
began to gravitate toward the house—which in and of itself was far from 
Disneyland, but in which a practiced and assertive user like Elizabeth could 
find a few consolatory nuggets, such as a full-time kitchen staff, trained in 
(among many other, completely useless skills) the preparation of hot 
chocolate.