She had expected the heat of India, the baked taste of the air and the way it made even the thinnest muslin stick uncomfortably to the skin.

Jane led me by the hand to our marriage bed. My sweet and vexing angel led me to the edge of what until tonight has been my bed alone, now ours to share. I sat on the soft mattress and reached for her, disappointment escaping my lips when she pulled away

It was my promotion from student to teacher that seemed to mark a change in Maria Temple. Prior to that event, as a student and nothing more, she was known to me as Miss Temple. No matter what my feelings might be, she remained, always, the serene woman w