Dot Burton's announcement of her desire to go out into the world and hew a way for herself came as no surprise to her brother, Jack. He knew Dot was restless and far from happy, and he knew his own marriage had left her feeling unsettled. Dot had been thrown upon his care years before, when the death of their parents had made her his dependent. His love for her was of a deep, almost maternal nature -- and he hated the thought of parting. He had hoped his wife Adela would have been a joy to Dot, and was intensely disappointed it was proving otherwise. There was someone else to think of, too. There was Fletcher Hill -- a tall man, tough and muscular, with black hair tinged with grey, and a long stubborn jaw that gave him an indomitable look. He was a magistrate of some repute in the district. And Jack knew he was coming calling soon, out of friendship for Jack -- and out of a different feeling, for the fearful Dot.

Author Biography

Ethel M. Dell (1881 - 1939) was a British writer of over 30 popular romance novels and several short stories from 1911 to 1939. Ethel Dell worked on a novel for several years, but it was rejected by eight publishers. Finally the publisher T. Fisher Unwin bought the book for their First Novel Library, a series which introduced a writer's first book. This book, entitled The Way of an Eagle, was published in 1911 and by 1915 it had gone through thirty printings. Her debut novel is very characteristic of Ethel M. Dell's novels. There is a very feminine woman, an alpha male, a setting in India, passion galore liberally mixed with some surprisingly shocking violence and religious sentiments sprinkled throughout. While readers adored Ethel M. Dell's novels, critics hated them with a passion; but she did not care what the critics thought. She considered herself a good storyteller - nothing more and nothing less. She continued to write novels for a number of years. She made quite a lot of money, from 20,000 to 30,000 a year, but remained quiet and almost pathologically shy.