Vera Chapter XX

In which our observant heroine, weather-beaten and wearied, seeks solace and understanding in the absence of her husband’s attentions, finding a strange comfort in the steadfast presence of a faithful servant and the quiet refuge of Vera’s room. Amidst the flickering firelight and the hush of a storm outside, she wrestles gently with the perplexities of love and temper, touching tenderly upon the fragile boundaries between affection and alienation.