Hello dear ones,
It's Joanne your host,
And I'm so happy to welcome you to our quiet space tonight.
Wherever you happen to be settling in.
Whether you've just slipped under the covers or you are already nestled deep into your pillows.
Take a moment now to let the day dissolve.
The waking world is coming to a close now.
Whatever you achieve today is just enough.
And anything left undone can easily wait for the new day ahead.
Right now,
This quiet time belongs entirely to you.
Tonight's story is a charming tale called The Road to Yesterday,
Written by the legendary Lucy Maud Montgomery,
The beloved voice behind Anne of Green Gables.
This particular piece is a delightfully witty romance full of the author's signature humor,
Nostalgia,
And spirit.
It follows a young woman named Suzette who escapes a suffocating house party for a solo drive down memory lane,
Seeking out her beloved childhood haven,
Peggy's Point.
She encounters a sudden storm,
A flood of memories,
And an unexpected meeting that changes everything.
It is a story filled with summer rain,
Pine trees,
And the cozy magic of old places.
So let us take a few moments to settle our minds and bodies before the story begins.
Make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can Allow your weight to sink fully into the mattress,
Your blankets,
Or wherever you are resting.
Gently roll your shoulders back to release the day's tension.
And then let them drop.
Completely heavy and loose.
Take a slow deep breath in and let it float all the way out.
And as you continue to breathe in and out.
Feel yourself melting a little further into the softness around you,
And give yourself full permission to fully embrace this quiet time of day.
Your peaceful sanctuary to unwind and the comforting rhythm of my voice.
Feel a relaxing heaviness spreading through your legs.
Let your arms grow loose and limp your entire body is softening and letting go and if it feels right Let your eyelids rest closed.
Allowing the outer world to just fade away.
There is nothing left for you to do now but rest.
Listen.
And let your mind drift away.
And when you're ready.
.
.
Let's begin.
Suzette was not yet officially engaged to Harvey Brooks,
But she knew with absolute certainty that she would be by the time she returned from her visit to Gleneland.
When a man like Harvey went so far as to invite a girl to his family estate to be inspected by his mother,
His aunt Clorinda,
His great aunt Ruth,
And an entire battalion of other relatives,
It could only mean one thing.
He had finally made up his mind to marry her.
It would never have crossed Harvey's mind that there was any other opinion to consider.
And in truth,
There was not,
As Suzette frankly admitted to her own heart.
She had long ago decided to say yes,
The moment he asked the question.
What else could a humble assistant editor of a struggling magazine do when the brilliant Harvey Brooks stooped to notice her?
To accept Harvey meant welcoming wealth,
High social standing,
A beautiful home.
And and Harvey himself.
Suzette made an impatient face at her reflection as she pulled a stylish green hat over her golden bronze hair.
You are the most ungrateful creature alive,
" she told her mirrored self.
Harvey is a wonderful catch,
Not just for his fortune,
But for his character.
He is absolutely flawless.
He is handsome,
Polished,
Well-mannered,
And successful.
What more do you want,
Suzette King?
You who ran wild and barefoot on a farm until you were 12.
And now at 28.
28 Suzette.
Are barely hanging on to your position at a new magazine.
Trying to convince yourself and the world that you have a grand career.
You should be overwhelmed with joy that Harvey Brooks has fallen in love with you.
Everyone thought he was far too busy making money to ever make love,
And they expected him to choose a countess if he did.
Instead?
He has forced his entire family to accept you,
As this invitation proves.
Why are you not bursting with gratitude,
Suzette King?
The stubborn fact remained that she was not Still,
She liked Harvey well enough.
She loved the beautiful life he could give her,
And she fully intended to marry him.
There was no hesitation in her mind as she drove down to Glenelyn that afternoon in her compact maroon car.
Yet?
A shadow of dread hung over her.
It was a daunting ordeal to be judged by Harvey's relatives,
Who held such a high and unquestioned opinion of their own importance,
And the very moment Suzette caught sight of Glenelyn,
A chill fell over her spirit.
It was such a smug,
Self-satisfied house.
I would like to smash a few of your windows with Suzette's instant rebellious reaction to it.
Some impish sprite whispered that very same thought to her when Harvey,
Already assuming a heavy possessive air,
Introduced her to his mother.
Mrs.
Brooks welcomed her with kindly condescension,
And Aunt Clorinda bestowed a kiss.
Suzette had not expected that embrace,
And would have infinitely preferred to do without it.
It seemed to sweep her too quickly.
And two inescapably into the family fold.
The rest of the house party,
Almost all of them Harvey's relatives,
Shook hands dutifully and with a semblance of pleasantness.
On the whole,
Despite Aunt Clarenda's kiss,
She felt that they did not quite approve of her.
She was a bit too much like an embodied flame for their safe,
Conventional lives.
But they were all going to hope for the best,
Since Harvey was notoriously impossible to budge once his mind was set.
All of them,
That is,
Except a third cousin named Eileen Garrett.
Suzette knew instantly that Eileen hated her.
And since there could be no other reason.
It must be because she wanted Harvey for herself.
Eileen was pretty.
But Suzette saw at a glance that she was the sort of girl whose expensive clothes impressed you far more than her personality.
Such arrival was easily dismissed,
Yet her presence lent a welcomed touch of spice to the gathering.
Suzette found in her a rather endless affair.
The family talked incessantly about people she did not know,
And whenever they had a sudden pang of conscience about their neglect,
They seemed to think her only topic of conversation could be newspaper work.
Suzette wondered if there would ever be a single thing she could truly talk to them about.
Would she be forced to gossip about Dell people for the rest of her days as Harvey's wife?
Yet Harvey was thoroughly enjoying himself.
He had already approved of her dress and her slim,
Cool beauty,
And absolutely nothing troubled his peace of mind.
He was a sleek,
Perfectly contented lover,
Entirely satisfied with his world,
His life,
And his prospective bride.
It would certainly be easy to get along with him.
Susette sighed,
Wondering pathetically why life had to be so dreadfully stodgy.
Was such dullness really necessary?
And Clarinda,
Who possessed a famous reputation for saying the most poisonous things in the sweetest possible voice,
Asked if she wasn't terribly fatigued after her long day in a stuffy office.
Let me see.
What is the name of that little paper you work on?
Womanhood,
" Suzette replied,
A trifle shortly.
A paper indeed.
Oh yes.
I don't believe I've ever seen a copy.
Harvey,
Dear,
You must bring me one.
Can buy one at any newsstand for 10 cents,
" Suzette said,
Her green eyes shimmering with a clear wicked mischief.
Mrs.
Brooks would have sighed then,
If she had ever allowed herself to do anything so human.
She thoroughly distrusted green-eyed women.
When Suzette woke in the dead of night,
She felt like a trapped prisoner.
The house seemed to suffocate her.
It was so utterly saturated with Harvey.
The whole kit and boodle of them were simply intolerable.
Suzette deliberately chose the phrase kit and boodle in her thoughts because she knew it would have absolutely horrified them.
When they set off for the hunt club breakfast at Samael the following morning,
Suzette's mood had not improved.
A spirit of pure stubbornness seemed to possess her.
Nothing pleased her,
And she made no effort to pretend otherwise.
Harvey,
She knew,
Would have proposed the previous evening if she had given him the slightest opportunity.
She had managed to fend him off.
But she knew there would be no stopping him tonight.
He was already a little offended by her distracted manner.
Even though he paid her several characteristic high-handed compliments.
In truth,
No man could have helped it.
Suzette always looked her absolute best on a radiant summer morning like this.
She seemed to sparkle in harmony with the day.
Her white wool skirt and crimson sweater suited her coloring perfectly.
And Harvey complacently reflected that she was the most stylish woman in the crowd.
Eileen could not hold a candle to her.
His manner grew more possessive by the minute.
If I marry him,
Suzette thought.
I will be the mistress of Gwendolyn.
I shall have all the wealth anyone could ever want.
Jewels,
Trips to Europe,
And perfectly behaved children,
As proper and unexciting as their father.
Because they will all take after him,
I am certain of it.
I will probably start taking after him myself before we have been married two years.
I can feel it in my bones.
It will all be settled tonight,
But meanwhile I must escape by myself for a few hours,
Just to draw one long final breath of freedom.
But I need an excuse.
What on earth can I say?
Samael.
Smell.
Where have I heard that name before?
It sounds so hauntingly familiar.
All at once,
Memory flashed.
Samael was only 40 miles from Martin's Lake and Peggy's Point.
Suzette gasped.
She had not realized she was so close to Peggy's point.
Uncle Duncan's old homestead.
She had spent most of her summer vacations there in ancient history,
Back after her mother died and before her father remarried.
Uncle Duncan had not been a real uncle,
But rather her mother's cousin.
She felt a sudden,
Intense longing to see the old place again.
Uncle Duncan and Aunt Marion were gone now,
But surely their son would still be there.
At any rate,
She was going to find out.
Harvey,
She announced at lunch.
I'm going to play hooky this afternoon.
I'm taking my car for a solo drive down memory lane.
In other words,
I'm going to visit an old farm where I used to spend my summers as a child.
I'll come with you,
" Harvey offered.
No,
Suzette shook her head firmly.
I want to go alone.
I am going alone.
To keep a date with old memories,
And eat red currants off a lettuce leaf.
It would only bore you.
Besides,
The Jollyons are coming over for tennis this afternoon.
" Mrs.
Brooks reminded her son coldly.
Harvey frowned.
He did not understand this sudden whim of Suzette's,
And whenever he did not understand a thing,
He disapproved of it.
Why should Suzette want to run away from his house party on some wild,
Mysterious excursion of her own?
But there was a defiant tilt to Suzette's beautiful chin that warned him protests were useless.
Harvey had already learned exactly what that tilt meant.
Making a virtue of necessity.
He saw Suzette off with a smile.
Harvey did not look his best when smiling.
Gravity suited his face well enough,
But smiles seemed to have no natural place there.
Suzette wondered if she would ever dare to tell him so once they were married.
She drew a long breath of relief as she sped through the Gwendolyn gates.
A delightful road stretched ahead of her,
Not a straight,
Boring highway which Suzette desired,
Loving instead all curves and dips.
Up one long spruce-walled hill and down into a green valley.
And then up another hill and down another valley.
Suzette accelerated.
Feeling like a bird swooping from crest to crest.
It must be almost as wonderful as flying.
Suzette longed to fly.
But knew she never would.
Harvey considered it unsafe.
And just ahead lay Peggy's point.
She had not seen it for 14 years.
Would the dear old place be terribly changed?
Who had Roddy married.
Suzette hoped his wife would not mind her dropping in so unexpectedly.
Was the old wishing stone still in the birch grove behind the barn,
And the brick walkway through the vegetable garden to the lakeshore.
What about the little green nook among the sharp fir trees down by the water where she used to go to think things out?
Even in childhood,
Things occasionally had to be thought out.
Those firs would be old weathered trees by now,
But one had to keep on thinking things out.
If only they would stay resolved.
And what about the old house,
Once so joyful and filled with beloved friends?
What had become of it?
Perhaps Roddy had torn it down to build a modern one.
It had been old,
Even when she was a girl.
Old,
But lovely.
A gentle,
Easy-going,
Cheerful old house,
The kind that looked as if it had been deeply loved for generations.
Visiting it had always been an adventure.
There had even been a ghost story connected to it.
Though Suzette could not recall what kind of ghost it was,
She only remembered her childhood disappointment at never seeing it.
What had happened to all the second and third cousins who used to play there with her.
She had lost track of them all.
Forgetting everyone except Lettie,
Who had been such a close friend.
And Jack,
Whom they called the Perpendicular,
Because he was so stiff and upright.
And Harry Bell.
Nicknamed Ding Dong.
And dip.
She can never forget Dick.
The bully.
The braggart.
And the tattletale.
She had detested him.
Everyone hated Dick.
And with good reason.
Even the dogs at Peggy's point couldn't stand him.
What a little monster he was,
Suzette recalled.
If he had been ugly,
One might have forgiven him.
But he was a handsome kid,
With striking eyes,
Large,
Grey,
Mischievous eyes.
I wonder what became of him.
He will be married,
Of course.
He would need a wife to boss around as soon as he was old enough.
Oh,
I would love to meet Dick again,
Just to slap his face.
Instead of which,
I suppose I'm expected to be grateful to him for saving my life that day my dress caught fire.
It is dreadful to owe your life to someone you completely loathe.
And Dick thoroughly enjoyed it.
He loved rolling me over and over in that rug and beating at the flames.
He didn't need to hit me so hard.
He just did it to get even.
How horrified darling Aunt Marion was because I refused to be civil to him afterward.
There are massive white thunderheads rolling up in the southwest.
I hope it doesn't rain.
Harvey would view it as a divine punishment for my behavior,
And he would completely approve.
Oh,
It is glorious to cruise along like this and think about whatever I darn well please.
I haven't truly dared to think since I arrived at Glenelan.
I felt certain they could read my thoughts.
When I finally do begin to speak my mind,
What will they do?
What will poor Harvey do with a wife who thinks the things I do?
The thunder clouds had shifted from white with mauve shadows to a rather threatening purple by the time Suzette finally turned in at the old,
Well-remembered gate of Peggy's Point.
Her heart gave a sudden bound to see the same wooden decoy ducks still perched on the gatepost.
It seemed like a happy omen.
But Suzette soon feared it had played her false when she discovered nobody was at home.
The old house stood there still,
Completely unchanged.
The familiar lawn,
The beloved garden,
And the gleam of the lake visible through the dark ancient pines.
Everything was trim and orderly,
So it was clear that Roddy,
Or someone else,
Still lived at Peggy's Point.
Yet,
It was equally obvious that the place was temporarily deserted.
A thunderstorm was definitely brewing,
And if she could not find a way into the house,
She really ought to scuttle back to Glenelyn immediately.
Suzette detested the very thought.
With just one look around dear old Peggy's point.
Glanolin had become more thoroughly unappealing than ever.
Suzette was just on the point of turning sorrowfully away.
When a young man stepped around the corner of the house and paused to look at her.
He was dressed in a flyer's uniform.
And though 14 years had passed since she last saw him,
She recognized him instantly by his large,
Gray,
Mischievous eyes and crinkly,
Mahogany-colored hair.
Why dick?
Dick?
" she exclaimed.
She ran toward him with outstretched hands,
Genuinely glad to see even Dick.
Detestable as he had always been,
He was still a vivid piece of the old life that had suddenly become so close and real again.
Dick took her hands and drew her just a little nearer.
He looked intently into her green eyes,
And Suzette felt a strange,
Inexplicable thrill,
A feeling that no look from Harvey had ever given her.
This must be Suzette.
Suzette King,
Dick said slowly.
Nobody else could possibly have those eyes.
Yes,
It's Suzette.
I'm staying over at Glenelin,
Near Simeo.
The Brooks Estate,
You know.
Everyone knows Glenelyn,
" Dick replied.
He seemed to have completely forgotten to release her hands.
And when I realized it was so close to Peggy's point,
I simply had to come.
But no one seems to be home.
Wherever did you drop from,
Dick?
It seems absolutely astounding to see you.
Or any of the old crowd here.
Suzette was rattling on because she didn't quite understand what was happening to her,
And she was afraid to stop talking for fear she might find out.
Than remembering that she was supposed to hate Dick.
She pulled her hands away.
Roddy and his wife went away for the day,
Dick explained.
I've been staying with them for a few days,
Getting ready for my trip to Peru.
I'm a humble civil engineer,
You see,
And I'm leaving tomorrow.
I very nearly left this morning.
Thank goodness I didn't.
Something flashed into Suzette's memory.
This very dick had once kissed her against her will,
And she had slapped his face for it.
She couldn't imagine why her cheeks should burn at the recollection now.
Or why it had suddenly ceased to be a humiliating,
Infuriating memory.
I ought to be glad you stayed too,
She laughed.
Because since you're here,
You can probably let me into the house if it starts to rain.
I really want to look around the old place now that I'm here.
But I wouldn't have dared to stay for fear of a downpour.
Your life hasn't changed a bit,
Suzette,
" Dick said.
There was never anything like it in the whole family.
And your eyes,
What color are they really?
I never could decide.
It's rather hard to capture green starlight.
You didn't make such pretty speeches in the old days,
Dick,
" Suzette said,
A little wildly.
All at once.
Everything seemed to be happening in a rush this amazing afternoon.
It felt incredibly important that Dick should know she had always hated him,
Hated him still,
And always would hate him.
Do you remember how we used to fight?
How I absolutely detested you?
We certainly didn't get along perfectly when we were kids,
" Dick admitted.
But be fair,
Suzette.
Was I entirely to blame?
You were,
Suzette cried passionately,
Far more passionately than the old memory seemed to warrant.
You were always doing the meanest things.
Do you remember how you shoved me into the patch of burrs and ruined my pink chiffon dress?
And you always pointed out my freckles in front of company.
You burned my doll at the stake.
And filled poor Bruno's furs with prickles.
And kissed you,
Dick supplied,
With his old impish grin.
Yes,
And do you remember the wallop I gave you on the nose for it?
" Suzette cried with relish.
How you bled.
Of course,
I was a little monster in those days,
But it's all so long ago,
Dick said plaintively.
Just forget this afternoon that you hate me.
Though,
If it comes down to it,
I'd rather you hate me than not think of me at all.
Let's go wander around all the old spots.
If you don't like me,
You don't have to pretend to.
I really ought to go back,
You know,
" Suzette sighed.
It's going to rain,
And Harvey will be annoyed.
Who's Harvey?
The man I'm going to marry.
Suzette wondered,
Even as she spoke.
Why she felt such a desperate urge to let Dick know that.
Dick absorbed this slowly.
Then he noted,
You're not wearing a ring.
I looked for that first thing.
It isn't absolutely finalized yet,
" stammered Suzette.
But it will be tonight.
He's going to propose tonight.
That's really why I ran away today,
I think.
I've heard of Harvey Brooks,
Of course.
Everyone has,
Dick said.
Well,
He has a head start on me,
But a fast worker can do wonders in a single afternoon.
Don't talk nonsense,
Suzette said curtly.
Let's go for that walk as you suggested.
I want to see everything I can before it rains.
I'm so glad Peggy's point hasn't changed much.
Even the old whitewashed stones around the flower beds are exactly the same.
And that old silver maple in the corner,
Where Letty and I used to sit on that big low branch and whisper secrets.
Where none of us could overhear you,
Grinned Dick.
You certainly tried hard enough,
Retorted Suzette.
Time and again we caught you sneaking around.
Oh,
Do you remember old Tom Drinkwine,
Uncle Duncan's hired man?
Yes,
He had that wonderful old pocket watch you had to wind with a key.
Look,
There's the old potato field behind the barn.
Do you remember what fun we had,
Launching potato balls from the ends of bendy twigs?
And there are no potato balls now,
Sighed Suzette.
They tell me they simply don't grow like that anymore.
I think all the romance has gone out of the world.
You're wearing a flyer's uniform,
Dick.
Is that just for show,
Or do you actually fly?
You always did have a sharp tongue,
Dick said coolly.
I really fly.
My plane,
The Mary Jack,
Is sitting right out there in the corner of the potato field.
I'm flying to Montreal tomorrow morning.
Does your Harvey fly?
No,
Suzette said shortly.
Oh,
Dick,
Look at the white lilac poor Aunt Jenny planted this summer she stayed here.
Do you remember the day Aunt Marion went away and left her in charge?
You did something dreadful and she was going to punish you.
But you refuse to hold out your hand.
And she said so sorrowfully that someone had to be punished.
And if you wouldn't take it,
She would have to.
She told you to punish her instead and held out her own hand.
And you gave her such a smile.
Dick burst out laughing.
I'll bet she was the most surprised aunt in the world at that exact moment.
Was she the one who used to have heart episodes,
Gasping for breath and crying out for cold compresses?
No,
No,
That was Aunt Eliza.
If she even was an aunt.
I really can't remember how everyone was related.
There always seemed to be an endless number of cousins of every degree at Peggy's point.
Who was the elderly woman who always wore an old-fashioned bustle,
Even though they had been out of style for 20 years?
Cousin Rhoda Oliver.
And there was a ghost,
Wasn't there Dick?
I was trying to remember what kind of ghost it was on my drive down.
A tall lady in black holding a handkerchief over her face as if she were weeping.
She was supposed to haunt the staircase.
I actually saw her once.
I don't believe you.
We can never believe a word you said,
Dick.
He would never admit to missing out on anything that could be seen.
Do you remember the living picture tableau Letty,
Nell,
And I put on at the church concert?
The three Graces,
Dressed in white sheets with long flowing hair,
Copied after the old print hanging in the spare bedroom?
And bare feet,
Except we didn't actually copy the picture in that regard.
The sheets hit our feet,
So we kept our boots on.
But Letty pretended we didn't,
And lamented afterward that nobody seemed to have noticed our lovely bare feet.
And you blurted out.
Oh,
I did.
They were the first thing I saw when the curtain went up.
What a laugh we had at your expense.
Why dig up all those unhappy,
Far-off memories,
Protested Dick?
I don't want to waste time on the unchangeable past.
It's the present that interests me and the future.
Suzette.
You are beyond any question the most exquisite creature I've ever seen.
Do you say that to every girl half an hour after you meet her?
If I ever happen to think it,
I would.
But I never happened to before.
I decided recently that I'd always say exactly what I really thought the moment it crossed my mind.
You have no idea what energy it gives to life.
Things go stale if you keep them unsaid.
I suppose so.
Suzette wondered what would happen if she said everything she thought,
Just when she thought it,
To Harvey.
Besides,
It's not just half an hour.
We have known each other for years as cousins and old enemies.
So why shouldn't I tell you that you're exquisite and beautiful and wholly charming,
With hair like the sunset light on old firs,
And eyes like the lake down there at dawn,
And a skin like a tea rose petal?
Do you remember the day you pointed out all my defects to the assembled cousins?
" said Suzette.
You said my hair was like a stack of dried hay,
And that I had eyes like a cat,
And a million freckles,
And a figure like a board.
You called me a board.
Good grief,
There you go again,
Groaned Dick.
Why can't you let the dead past bury its dead?
Why indeed,
Suzette wondered herself.
Why did she feel that she must drag up these old grievances?
Must remember how hateful Dick had been.
And refuse to forget it for a single moment.
Because he couldn't have changed truly.
People didn't change.
He had just learned to cover up his old malice with a certain charming,
Easy-going manner made possible by his undeniable good looks.
Suddenly,
Suzette felt a wave of panic.
She must get back to Glenelyn instantly,
Before,
Before,
Well,
Before the rain caught her.
You can't leave now,
Dick said.
There's the first growl of thunder.
You must be sensible and come right into the house until the storm passes.
Then we'll finish our walk.
But it's five o'clock already,
Protested Suzette.
If I don't start immediately,
I'll be late for dinner.
I can make you a bite to eat.
It's out of the question to think of driving to Simeo in the face of a sky like that.
You were always a fearless little daredevil.
But that is one thing I'm simply not going to let you do.
Suzette gave in.
She knew she couldn't manage that winding road in a thunderstorm.
It would be difficult enough even after the rain stopped.
Besides,
She secretly wanted to give Harvey a bit of a scare as a final gesture of independence.
Moreover,
She felt she hadn't yet truly made Dick understand just how much she detested him.
She was not going to leave Peggy's point until that mission was accomplished.
They went inside.
The interior had changed.
New furniture,
New curtains,
New rugs and fresh paint.
But the old rooms themselves were unaltered.
Suzette ran through the mall while Dick busied himself with something in the kitchen.
By the time she returned to the living room,
The rain was lashing against the windows and the thunder was crashing directly overhead.
Suzette absolutely adored thunderstorms.
She wondered if Harvey would be worried.
She didn't think Aunt Clarinda would care,
And she was entirely certain Eileen wouldn't.
Dick came in from the kitchen carrying a tray with a pot of tea,
A plate of toast,
And a jar of jam.
He walked over to the corner cupboard and took out the dishes,
Aunt Marion's old fluted set with the gold pansy on the side,
And her little brown jug with the creamy lining.
Oh,
Sighed Suzette,
Forgetting all her defenses.
This is absolute heaven.
Pull up a chair to the table,
Suzette,
And let's break bread together.
And don't forget to praise my tea.
I'm an absolute expert at making tea.
Boastful as ever,
Mocked Suzette.
But she sat down at the table obediently.
The tea was excellent.
The toast was perfect,
And the jam had clearly been made from Aunt Marion's old recipe.
But why,
Oh why,
Should it be so utterly delightful to sit here in this dim room drinking tea and munching toast with a detestable dick?
I really ought to telephone Gwendolyn,
" she said weakly.
You can't.
This is a rural line,
And the operators never answer during thunderstorms.
It's strictly forbidden.
Besides,
The lines always go down in a storm.
Forget glenolin.
Live in the present.
Suzette,
Has any poor man ever told you that the way you look over your shoulder at him is enough to drive him completely mad?
Do you remember,
" Suzette said slowly,
How,
When we were playing Robinson Crusoe,
You wouldn't let me play Man Friday just because I was a girl?
And I was completely right.
How could Crusoe focus on survival with a distracting man Friday like you around?
It just shows my good sense.
Suzette decided to stop throwing the past in his face.
It was completely useless.
He had absolutely no sense of shame.
Outside,
The storm was worsening.
The whole world was a wild chaos of wind,
Lightning,
And torrential water.
But inside,
There was only warmth,
Beauty,
And peace.
Such incredible peace.
Suzette hadn't felt so thoroughly at home anywhere in years.
Before she could catch herself.
She realized how wonderful it was to be shut away from the storm with him,
Drinking amber tea,
Eating toast,
And sharing spoonfuls of ruby-colored jam.
I think I'll have another cup of tea,
" she sighed happily.
Much later,
It might have been hours,
Months,
Or years,
Suzette awoke to the fact that,
Although the thunder and lightning had ceased,
The rain was still pouring down in a businesslike way,
As if it meant to keep on for days.
She looked at her watch and exclaimed in dismay,
Half past six.
It will be dinner time in Glenlyn in an hour.
I can never make it.
I should think you couldn't,
" Dick said.
Have some sense,
Suzette.
They only rode from here to Semeu.
Will be absolutely impassable for that little car of yours.
You can't go back tonight.
You've just got to stay here.
Here,
Alone with you?
" gasps Suzette.
Why not?
Aren't we cousins?
Nonsense.
I can't stay here.
I must phone.
Harvey will come for me somehow.
Just try the phone.
Since I had tried.
There was no reply.
She stood for a few minutes before the telephone,
Wondering why she didn't actually mind.
I don't know what to do,
She said miserably.
Oh,
I know it would be madness to try to get back in this storm,
But I have to be at the office tomorrow morning,
And.
.
.
And.
.
.
And how about Harvey's proposal in the meantime?
" grinned Dick.
Never mind,
Suzette.
There are other proposals.
I'm going to make one myself in the morning.
Suzette sat down because there didn't seem to be anything else to do.
Dick lit the candles on the mantelpiece,
Mrs.
Roddy's prized candles that she never meant for burning,
Crossed one leg over the other,
And took a new angle.
He didn't pay Suzette any more compliments or tease her about Harvey.
He talked all evening about aviation.
Suzette listened greedily.
She almost forgot.
Until she found herself between the lavender-scented sheets of Mrs.
Roddy's guest-room bed in the upstairs,
Southeast corner of Peggy's Point,
That she had hated Dick.
Then she tried hard to remember.
Think,
She told herself desperately,
How he used to bully the other boys.
How once he twisted Ding Dong's arm to make him do something.
How he told Aunt Marion it was Jack who did the pie.
What he did to the kitten.
That memory was intolerable.
Suzette buried her face in the pillow and groaned.
She hated him.
She hated him.
She would get up ever so early in the morning and sneak away before she saw him again.
Before she can again succumb to that devilish charm of his which had made her temporarily forget those things.
The rain was still coming down outside but more gently.
The boughs of the old fir tree tapped against the window.
She had always liked the sound and scent and freshness of rain and fir trees in the dark.
And life had suddenly become romantic again.
The possibilities,
Not the probabilities,
For they were stodgy,
Enthralled her.
Was it this morning she had been so bored with existence?
Of course she would marry Harvey.
There was no getting out of that.
But there were still lovely things in the world.
Flying.
She would fly.
Harvey shouldn't stop her.
What adventures Dick had had in Mary Jack,
If one could believe him.
And in Peru.
Suzette sat up in bed and shook her small white fist at the darkness.
She had just remembered what had happened to her feelings when her fingers had chanced to touch Dick's as he handed her the second cup of tea.
I won't fall in love with him.
I won't.
I won't.
She was aghast.
When she put her danger into words,
It terrified her.
There was nothing for it but an early morning escape back to safety and sanity and.
.
.
And.
.
.
Harvey.
When Suzette awoke in the morning,
She knew something she had not known when she went to sleep.
She had only been afraid of knowing it.
She got out of bed very softly and tiptoed to the window.
The sun was not yet visible,
But the whole morning sky behind the eastern hill of pines was rose-hued,
With gossamer clouds of pale gold strewn over it.
Little ripples were running over the silver green lake and the horizons were hung with pale blue mists.
Suzette knew she must drive away instantly through those lovely morning mists or she was a lost woman.
Swiftly and noiselessly she dressed.
Slowly and noiselessly she crept down the stairs,
Opened the front door,
And stepped out.
She looked about her and caught her breath with delight.
The sun was up now,
And a lovely new world,
With its face freshly washed,
Was blinking its innocent baby blues at the light.
She had forgotten what Beggie's point was like at dawn,
And she hadn't even seen all the deer spots she used to love.
Wasn't there time at least for a quick trip down to the lake?
Dick wouldn't be up for an hour yet.
She would take a stolen run through this golden world.
She would slip down to the lake on the old brick pathway,
With the wind as a gallant companion.
She would take a stolen run to this golden world.
She would slip down to the lake on the old brick pathway,
With the wind as a gallant companion.
The grasses would bathe her feet in green coolness,
And the water would sink to her,
Just once before she went back to Harvey.
When she was almost at the lake,
A delicious fragrance met her nostrils.
Before she realized the truth,
She had broken through the trees to the shore and saw Dick squatted by a fire of driftwood on the rocks,
Broiling bacon with a coffee pot beside him.
On another rock.
An oil tablecloth was spread,
And what was on it?
Wild strawberries on a green leaf.
How long was it since she had eaten wild strawberries of any kind,
Much less the kind that grew at Peggy's point?
Dick waved a fork with a piece of bacon on it at her.
Good girl.
I was just going to call you.
We've got to start soon to be in Toronto in time.
Besides,
I didn't want you to miss such a chance to bathe your soul in the dawn.
Look what I have for you.
I found a patch of them over the pasture field.
Such amazing luck.
But then,
Peggy's Point has always been noted for its massive amounts of good luck.
Besides,
See?
A bunch of little red wild columbines you used to love.
Pick out a soft spot on that rock and sit down.
Suzette did as she was told.
She felt a little dazed.
Dick Porter coffee,
And Fetter bacon and wild strawberries.
Neither of them said much.
There were zones of beautiful color on the lake,
With little pools of clear shadow here and there.
Great white cloud mountains with amber valleys rose up in the sky.
Presently,
She supposed,
Dick would be flying across them in the Mary Jack.
The idea drove her to the cliché of offering Dickie a penny for his thoughts.
I was wondering.
What would happen if I suddenly called you darling?
" he said solemnly.
I should go away,
Of course,
" said Suzette.
We can't sit here forever.
Why not?
Said Dick.
That is a rhetorical question,
I suppose,
And not meant to be answered,
" said Suzette,
Getting up.
Dick got up to.
I'm going to answer it.
We can't sit here forever,
Heavenly as it would be.
Because I've got to sail for South America the day after tomorrow.
There isn't a great deal of time for us to fly to Toronto.
Get a special license,
Be married,
And then fly to Montreal to catch the steamer.
But the Mary Jack is a good little machine,
And I think we can do it.
You're quite mad,
" said Suzette.
I'm going to the house to get my car and hurry back to Glenlyn,
" said Suzette firmly.
I know that's what you intend to do,
But it won't take long to change your mind.
Suzette looked about her a bit helplessly.
Then she happened to look at Dick.
The next moment,
She was caught tightly in his arms and was being kissed.
One long,
Wild,
Rapturous,
Breathless kiss.
You are mine,
Suzette.
I've made you mine with that kiss.
You can never belong to anyone else.
Suzette stood very still.
She knew this was one of the rarest blended moments of life.
She knew she would never marry Harvey.
We'll be on our way to Toronto in 15 minutes,
" Dick was saying.
It'll take me that time to put away Mrs.
Roddy's frying pan and lock your car in Roddy's barn.
We can leave it there until we come back from Peru in about three years' time.
The telephone will do the rest.
Suzette went back to her room to fetch her watch,
Which she had left tucked under her pillow.
She supposed she was bewitched.
Literally bewitched.
Nothing else could possibly account for her behavior.
If she could only banish that awful memory of the kitten.
When she returned to the lakeside,
She couldn't spot Dick anywhere at first.
Then she noticed him standing a little distance away in the shadow of some fir trees.
His back was turned to her,
And a red squirrel was perched casually on his shoulder.
He was feeding the little creature and the squirrel was chattering back to him.
Suzette stood completely still.
She knew another undeniable truth now.
She would have turned and run right then if Dick hadn't wheeled around at that exact moment.
The squirrel made a wild leap into the branches,
And Dick came striding over to her.
Did you see that little chap?
They've always been fond of me,
The folk of fur and feathers.
Are not,
Dick,
" Suzette said in a low,
Quiet voice,
Looking directly up at him.
He stopped in his tracks.
No,
He admitted,
I'm not.
I was just wondering how I was going to tell you.
But how did you find out?
When I saw the squirrel on your shoulder.
Animals always hated Dick.
He was so cruel to them.
No squirrel would ever have climbed onto his shoulder.
And may I ask who you actually are?
Since you've promised to marry me,
You certainly have a right to that information,
" he said gravely.
I am Jerry Thornton.
I am a first cousin of Dick's through Aunt Marion,
But I am no relation to you whatsoever.
My family lived out west,
But I stayed at Peggy's Point one summer when you weren't here.
I heard all about you from the rest of the crowd.
And remember,
You called me Dick first.
I was terrified that if I corrected you,
You wouldn't stay at Peggy's point long enough for me to make you love me.
I thought I stood a better chance pretending to be Dick.
Even though he held such a fierce grudge against him.
We always looked alike because our mothers were twin sisters.
But honest to goodness,
Suzette,
We aren't a bit alike deep down.
Besides,
Dick is married.
He would be,
Suzette remarked.
Jerry looked down at her a little anxiously.
A minor detail like a mistaken identity isn't going to change anything,
Is it Suzette?
I don't see why it should,
" Suzette replied.
First.
How did you know Dick once kissed me?
As if any boy wouldn't kiss you if he got the chance,
Jerry scoffed.
And how did you know I loved wild columbines?
Everybody loves wild columbines,
Jerry said.
Sweet dreams my friends.
Sleep well.
You you you
