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Everything I Am.

The first question rattled her. It gave her the feeling of stepping on a step that wasn’t there. But Eva had told her when they first began their sessions that she liked to ask the hard questions, and Rebecca had to be prepared.

‘Like George Negus,’ Eva had joked, releasing a throaty chuckle.

The Hummingbird and the Sea.

Maria stood near the meeting house green. More a dusty, rutted, manure-covered square of dirt than a green, the area in front of the white building was where most of Eastham’s dramas played out. It was set with a whipping post, a pound and a watch house. On this particular summer’s day, the space was playing host to a lively quarterstaff bout. Maria could barely hear the staves connecting over the din of the cheering spectators. Most were yelling the name of Judah Doane, a young man of twenty whose family she knew well. He was the grandson of one of the first settlers in Eastham. Maria was the granddaughter of another. The two families had forged their lives in the wilderness side by side.

The Ice Balloon.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the Strindberg drawing room. Nils looked to his older brother Erik for a reaction, but none came. His mother sat speechless in her armchair and his father stared stubbornly at a spot on the wall. Finally, the quiet was broken by 12-year-old Tore.

‘It will be a marvellous adventure, I should think.’ Nils smiled at him in gratitude. ‘I mean, it’s the chance of a lifetime really, and Nils will return a hero.’

The Falconer.

Tabby was led to her place next to the magistrates’ bench. Her seat, an exceedingly uncomfortable straight-backed chair made of pine, was as hard as a ploughman’s palm. Crafted by an ill-skilled carpenter, she guessed. She half hoped it would not be a lengthy trial for her back would not endure, although in truth she was willing to bear the discomfort for as long as was necessary. Her life was at stake, after all.