Return of the Native Book 4 Chapter 1

In which the July sun illuminates the heath with fiery splendour, and two newlyweds dwell in a tender yet tense harmony under the ever-watchful Egdon skies. A delicate dispute unfolds by the pool’s edge, where doubts and old grievances are laid bare between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, their hearts straining against the bonds of family and expectation.