About this story
If they call our friendship unsuitable again, I shall ask them what they think friendship is for. You step into this one-chapter preview with Janetta Colwyn at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. Read it with me, Janetta; after that, no one can call our friendship unsuitable without hearing why. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
How it opens
Janetta Colwyn taught music at the school, wore the plainest gown, and still carried the private loyalty of a girl who had once been a pupil beside Margaret Adair.
Margaret AdairIf they call our friendship unsuitable again, I shall ask them what they think friendship is for.
You have a house, a name, and a mother who can dismiss me with one look; I have only the promise that I will not leave you alone.
Margaret's beauty and inheritance made every kindness toward Janetta look like a breach of school order.
Miss PolehamptonLady Caroline has written; she will not have her daughter governed by a music governess's affection.
NoraA letter can forbid a visit, but it cannot make Margaret forget who stood beside her when the other girls laughed.