For a moment after he realized the true state of affairs Godfrey was spellbound with terror. Was it just possible that he would be able to head the horse off from the pit? If he could not, then it would be the end of all things as far as Miss Devereux was concerned. With the cold sweat of terror on his brow he watched the girl he loved racing down the slope on the maddened horse. He saw that she was making a brave fight to bring him to a standstill; but even at that distance he could tell that her effort was in vain. A moment later the animal had once more changed his course and had dashed toward a hedge. He scarcely rose at it; as a natural consequence he struck it, toppled over, and then both horse and rider disappeared together. Fearful at what he might find, Godfrey galloped toward the spot, jumped the gate that separated it from the neighbouring field, and looked about him for what he should see.[Pg 77] The horse was lying stretched out upon the ground, and one glance was sufficient to show him that its neck was broken. In the dry ditch below the hedge he could catch a glimpse of a black figure. He sprang from his horse and approached it. Lifting her head he supported her in his arms, and as he did so a little sigh escaped from her lips."God be thanked, she is still alive!" he muttered to himself, and then he replaced her head upon the bank.Taking off his coat he made it into a ball. He placed it beneath her head, and then set off in search of water. When he had procured a little in his hat he returned and bathed her forehead and temples with it. After a while she opened her eyes and looked up at him."I feel better now," she answered, in reply to his inquiries. "Where is the horse?""Close beside you," he said, and then going to his own animal he took his flask from the holster and filled the little cup with sherry."Drink this," he said. "It will do you good."The wine revived her, and in a few minutes she was so far recovered as to be able to sit up and discuss matters with him."I am quite well now," she said. "But how am I to get home? Poor papa! What a state he will be in when he hears! Since my horse is dead I suppose I must try to walk.""You will do nothing of the kind," Godfrey replied, firmly. "I will lift you into the saddle and you must try and ride my horse. If we can find a village near here, you can remain there until a carriage is sent from the Court to fetch you.""As I have proved myself incompetent I suppose I must obey you," she answered, with a touch of her old spirit. "But what is to be done with my own poor beast?""I will arrange about him when I have attended to your comfort," he said, and then assisted her to rise and lifted her into the saddle. For the first hundred yards or so they walked almost in silence. She was the first to speak."Mr. Henderson," she said, looking down at him, "I owe you an apology. I was rude to you the other day, and I laughed at you when you told me this morning that you did not like my new horse. Events have proved that you were right. Will you forgive me?""I have nothing to forgive," he answered; "but you can have no idea how nervous I[Pg 79] was this morning when I saw how that brute behaved.""Why should you have bothered yourself about me?" she asked, not, however, with quite her usual confidence.Here was the very opportunity he had been looking for so long. He felt that he must take possession of it at once."Because I love you," he answered. "You must have known that I have been in love with you ever since I first saw you, Molly. Don\'t you believe me?""Yes, I know it," she replied, looking at him with the love-light shining in her own eyes."And your answer, Molly? What can you say to me?""Only that I love you too," she murmured.The Mystery of the Clasped Hands : A Novel, instinctively, suggestive of the works, distraction, an exclamation,crime novel,clasped hands Views: 430
A new collection of dark, chilling tales from the #1 New York Times Bestselling authorFrom literary icon Joyce Carol Oates comes a brand new collection of haunting and, at times, darkly humorous mystery & suspense stories. These are tales of psyches pushed to their limits by the expectations of everyday life—from a woman who gets lost on her drive home to her plush suburban home and ends up breaking into a stranger's house, to a first-person account of a cloned 1940s magazine pinup girl being sold at auction and embodying America's ideals of beauty and womanhood.Taken as a whole, the collection forms a poignant tapestry of regular people searching for their place in a social hierarchy, often with devastating and disastrous results. Rendered with stylish, fresh writing from an author who continues to push the envelope, the stories deftly weave in and out of a stream-of-consciousness to reflect the ways we process traumatic experiences... Views: 430
Hailed as “America’s finest realistic novelist” by the Boston Globe, Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, garnered rare critical acclaim for his bracing, unsentimental portraits of middle-class American life.
Disturbing the Peace is no exception. Haunting, troubling, and mesmerizing, it shines a brilliant, unwavering light into the darkest recesses of a man’s psyche.
To all appearances, John Wilder has all the trappings of success, circa 1960: a promising career in advertising, a loving family, a beautiful apartment, even a country home. John’s evenings are spent with associates at quiet Manhattan lounges and his weekends with friends at glittering cocktail parties. But something deep within this seemingly perfect life has long since gone wrong. Something has disturbed John’s fragile peace, and he can no longer find solace in fleeting affairs or alcohol. The anger, the drinking, and the recklessness are building to a crescendo—and they’re about to take down John’s career and his family. What happens next will send John on a long, strange journey—at once tragic and inevitable. Views: 429
I Am No One You Know contains nineteen startling stories that bear witness to the remarkably varied lives of Americans of our time. In "Fire," a troubled young wife discovers a rare, radiant happiness in an adulterous relationship. In "Curly Red," a girl makes a decision to reveal a family secret, and changes her life irrevocably. In "The Girl with the Blackened Eye," selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2001, a girl pushed to an even greater extreme of courage and desperation manages to survive her abduction by a serial killer. And in "Three Girls," two adventuresome NYU undergraduates seal their secret love by following, and protecting, Marilyn Monroe in disguise at Strand Used Books on a snowy evening in 1956.
These vividly rendered portraits of women, men, and children testify to Oates's compassion for the mysterious and luminous resources of the human spirit. Views: 429
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. Along with Irving\'s companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity. Views: 428
From the universally admired, award-winning author of Waiting and The Boat Rocker, an urgent, timely novel that follows a famous Chinese singer severed from his country as he works to find his way in the United States.After popular singer Yao Tian takes a private gig in New York at the end of a tour with his state-supported choir, expecting to pick up some extra cash for his daughter's tuition fund, the consequences of his choice spiral out of control. On his return to China, he is informed that the sponsors of the event were in support of Taiwan's secession and that he must deliver a formal self-criticism. When he is asked to forfeit his passport to his employer, he impulsively decides instead to return to New York to protest the government's threat to his artistic integrity. With the help of his old friend, Yabin, Tian's career begins to flourish in the United States. Soon placed on a government blacklist and thwarted... Views: 427
The Coming of the Ice is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Green Peyton is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Green Peyton then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 427
An Esquire Best Book of SummerA collection of glittering, surprising, darkly funny stories of people testing the boundaries of their lives—from the award-winning author of Dual Citizens, who is "spoken of in the same reverent breath as Lorrie Moore and Joy Williams" (Heidi Julavits, author of The Folded Clock). In the mordantly funny "Money, Geography, Youth," Vanessa arrives home from a gap year volunteering in Ghana to find that her father is engaged to her childhood best friend. Unable to reconcile the girl she went to dances with in the eighth grade and the woman in her father's bed, Vanessa turns to a different old friendship for her own, unique diversion. In the subversive "The Brooks Brothers Guru," Amanda drives to upstate New York to rescue her gawky cousin from a cult, only to discover clean-cut, well-dressed men living in a beautiful home, discussing the classics, and... Views: 426
Unspecialist is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Murray F. Yaco is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Murray F. Yaco then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 426
Life and Death sometimes made you believe in second chancesRobertOne thing I was sure of in my life was I'd never start over after my marriage of thirty years ended. Yet when our kids formed lives of their own, we'd grown apart. I'd signed the papers and tried to move on. My work as a Homicide Detective became my life. It left me with no time to think, but I couldn't exist for my job alone. All that changed when they assigned Remy Bosley as my new partner. He was too good to be true, but in a short time, he became my friend—maybe something more.RemyFor twenty-eight years, I'd worked to leave my past behind. Although, when the horrors shaped you into the person you were, there was no escape. Being a cop for me was making sure no one else turned out like me. My partner, Robert Kauffman, made it clear how far I'd shoved my dreams down. I was too old and damaged for fairy tales, yet that's exactly what I wanted. In... Views: 426
The Ballad of Peckham Rye is the wickedly farcical fable of a blue-collar town turned upside down. When the firm of Meadows, Meade & Grindley hires Dougal Douglas (a.k.a. Douglas Dougal) to do "human research" into the private lives of its workforce, they are in no way prepared for the mayhem, mutiny, and murder he will stir up. "Not only funny but startlingly original," declared The Washington Post, "the legendary character of Dougal Douglas...may not have been boasting when he referred so blithely to his association with the devil." In fact this Music Man of the thoroughly modern corporation changes the lives of all the eccentric characters he meets, from Miss Merle Coverdale, head of the typing pool, to V.R. Druce, unsuspecting Managing Director. Views: 425
A Vibrant Novel About the Joys of Life ... and The Pangs of Love
Love had come to David for the first time, glorious, overwhelming, passionate. It was far greater and far more lovely than he had ever dreamed possible. And it was returned in full measure, with equal passion. But he could not take her without pain--pain for himself, for her, for his beloved family.
Lucilla has spent a lifetime making the Hampshire estate of Damerosehay a tranquil haven for the Eliot family. When her favourite grandson, David, falls in love with an unsuitable woman Lucilla feels is unsuitable, she sees her most cherished ambitions put at risk. But can she persuade David and Nadine to put duty before love?
At last, in the magical peace of the countryside, watched over by a benevolent old house that had nourished so much love, they knew the path their hearts must take.... Views: 425
Introducing The Shaman Of The Earth Maker and the return of The Pearl. “Every sentient species has a secret joy in thinking they are the most creative harbingers of death but each and every one cowers in corners to what the natural order of things can do.”Mayenta has returned once again to the land with no recollection of where she had gone. All she knew was, every time she returned to the vale, she returned lying in the same spot underneath a dogwood tree growing high upon Honor Mountain--and, as usual, she returned naked. What did it mean that she left Paigorya without warning? Where did she go? WHY did she go? And, most importantly, who was she?The Dogwood Tree eBook short story includes a free excerpt from Laurie Y. Elrod's novel, Blackridge-Book One of the So'ladiun. Views: 423
