The mackerel boats curtsied and nodded outside ; beyond them the sharp tip of Sandy Point was curdled white with seagulls . Down at the curve of the cove a group of men were laughing and talking loudly in front of French Joe 's fish-house . This was the life that she had always known . Across the harbour , on a fir-fringed headland , stood Dalveigh . John Cameron , childless millionaire , had built a summer cottage on that point two years ago , and given it the name of the old ancestral estate in Scotland . To the Racicot fishing folk the house and grounds were as a dream of enchantment made real . Few of them had ever seen anything like it . Nora Shelley knew Dalveigh well . She had been the Camerons ' guest many times that summer , finding in the luxury and beauty of their surroundings something that entered with a strange aptness into her own nature . It was as if it were hers by right of fitness . And this was the life that might be hers , did she so choose . In reality , her choice was already made , and she knew it . But it pleased her to pretend for a little time that it was not , and to dally tenderly with-the old loves and emotions that tugged at her heart and clamoured to be remembered . Within , in the low-ceilinged living room , with its worn , uneven floor and its blackened walls hung with fish nets and oilskins , four people were sitting . John Cameron and his wife were given the seats of honour in the middle of the room . Mrs. Cameron was a handsome , well-dressed woman , with an expression that was discontented and , at times , petulant . Yet her face had a good deal of plain common sense in it , and not even the most critical of the Racicot folks could say that she `` put on airs . '' Her husband was a small , white-haired man , with a fresh , young-looking face . He was popular in Racicot , for he mingled freely with the sailors and fishermen . Moreover , Dalveigh was an excellent market for fresh mackerel .
Nathan Shelley , XXXXX his favourite corner behind the stove , sat lurching forward with his hands on his knees .
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