The Revenge of One Humiliated
Martha
The silence stretches for an eternity. I see the thoughts swirling in my daughter's eyes, I see the mute recognition, the shock, the terrible attraction that sparks between them like flint on dry powder. I have to intervene. Now.
—Élianor, darling, I say, forcing a normalcy that rings false. This is Mr. Thorne. Marcus Thorne. He… he's going to rent the cottage for a while.
I brandish the money slightly, like proof, a pathetic justification.