‘Maybe had I been patient, wooed her once more, all might still have been well. I have thought so since. But I was not a patient nor a subtle man. Her coldness enraged me. She...

‘I had made my fortune, as I say, and people knew of it. A man with money is generally welcomed in society, even though he be a sailor, lacking breeding and still showing the coarseness...

‘I took that painting down the day she left me.’ He paused. She did not speak, and he went on: ‘I was minded to smash it, and burn the fragments. I almost did, but drew...

‘The carriage I heard – have they been here again from Les Colombelles?’ ‘Aunt Jeanne and Edmund brought my things. And they brought Marie, who has been my maid, to stay with me here.’ ‘I...

‘Are you still here, Miss Lorimer? I ordered you to go.’ ‘You must eat, sir. I have brought you food.’ ‘I want none of it.’ ‘It will restore your strength.’ He glared at her. ‘Do...

She started at the light touch of a hand on her brow. Edmund stood before her. ‘I have caught you napping.’ She said indignantly: ‘I was not asleep, merely resting. I did not hear your...

Catharine, the younger and prettier of the Le Maitre girls, said: ‘This schooling is a good thing, though my papa says it may well be carried too far. The Rector of Torteval has even declared...

Dust lay thick on every shelf and ledge, and spider’s webs drooped from the oil paintings on the walls. Although the atmosphere was dank, there was a buzz of flies, and a strong fishy smell....

The house, like the pillars below, had been faced with stucco, but the stucco was pitted by wind and weather and in several places had fallen off, exposing grey granite beneath. Twin flights of steps...