The marriage was a contract, a debt settled. Eleanor accepted the terms: a ring, a title, and the estate of a man she barely knew. William—Bill to his companions—left for India the morning after the wedding, leaving Eleanor to manage a property verging on ruin. For six months, she worked with rigid competence, transforming her imposed duty into a meticulously ordered life.
William returns and shatters that peace. He arrives not alone, but with Danowua, a Cherokee man from the Americas, an unannounced guest whose presence immediately strains the household.
William finds a home restored and admires the strength of the wife who achieved it. Eleanor, however, is strangled by her adherence to propriety. Though she manages his property, she struggles to be the "proper wife," failing to offer the emotional connection her husband now seeks.
The tension heightens with the arrival of Olivia, Eleanor's friend, who brings with her difficulties of her own, the nature of which only adds to the unsettling atmosphere. Olivia’s sharp observations and personal distress increase the awkwardness between the couple, making their already difficult situation nearly unbearable. This story is somewhat awkward at times, but the plot and the conflict are well written.
The greatest threat to their marriage is not resentment, but silence. Both are honorable, yet their failure to communicate allows assumptions to fester, letting hurt and anger grow from simple lack of shared feelings.
It is only when Eleanor and William finally choose to be open about their feelings—to speak the truths they have held back—that they discover the mutual ground necessary to transform their arranged alliance into a true partnership.
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