
Preparations for Kate's marriage to Rodney had agreed in every detail except the journey expected after the ceremony. A honeymoon gives newly married people time apart from households, callers, and habits that still belong to others. You step into this one-chapter preview with Hector Archibald at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. The proxy honeymoon was real now; its first unsolved question was where two people who had not wanted it should go. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
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