A Fatal Silence, Vol. 1 (of 3) by Florence Marryat

AT GRASSDENE.

Mrs Sutton, Paula's mother (for Stafford was entirely an assumed name) was standing outside her cottage door at the close of that summer's evening, little dreaming that her daughter was so close at hand. Grassdene stood on an elevation above the sea, but not so far from it but that the still, glassy water, flecked here and there with a touch of creamy white, could be easily distinguished as it murmured over the pebbly shore. The village was encompassed by hills, covered with scented grass, over which the Devonshire flocks were scattered in peaceful rest. Peace, indeed, seemed to be written over the whole of the little hamlet, and Mrs Sutton, looking up at the starry heavens, wondered if her dear Paula were enjoying herself, and wished they were together. For Paula's unfortunate history, and Paula's necessity for work, were the two bugbears of her mother's life. She took all the blame to herself of her daughter's ill-luck, whereas she had thought she was doing the best thing in the world for her when she married her to Captain Carl Bjornsën.