Demelza was so glad that her ordeal was over, and decently even triumphantly over, that she took his arm and began to sing. She took big masculine strides to keep up with his, but every now and then would have to give a little skip to make good lost ground. She fitted these in with her song so that her voice gave an upward skip at the same time as her feet.
Before the sun set, the black day broke on the horizon and sea and land were flooded with light. At the sudden warmth under the lowering clouds, all the waves became disordered and ran in ragged confusion with heads tossing and glinting in the sun.
Demelza thought: I am nearer sure of him than I have ever been before. How ignorant I was that first June morning thinking everything was sure. Even that August night after the pilchards came, even then there had been nothing to compare me with. All last summer I told myself it was as certain as anything could be. I felt sure. But last night was different. After a whole seven hours in Eliza beth's company, he still wanted me at the end. After a talk all to themselves with her making eyes at him like a she-cat, he still came to me. Perhaps she isn’t so bad. Perhaps she isn’t such a cat. Perhaps I feel sorry for her. Why does Francis look so bored? Perhaps I feel sorry for her after all. Dear Verity helped. I hope my baby doesn’t have codfish eyes like Geoffrey Charles. I believe I’m going thinner, not fatter. I hope nothing's wrong. I wish I didn’t feel so sick. Ruth Treneglos is worse than Elizabeth. She didn’t like me making up to her hare-and-hounds husband. As if I cared for him. Though I shouldn’t like to meet him in a dark lane with nobody near. I think she was jealous of me in another way. Perhaps she wanted Ross to marry her. Anyway, I’m going home to my home, to bald Jud and fat Prudie and red-haired Jinny and long-legged Cobbledick, going home to get fat and ugly myself. And I don’t care. Verity was right. He’ll stick to me. Not because he ought to but because he wants to. Mustn’t forget Verity. I’ll scheme like a serpent. I would dearly love to go to one of George Warleggan's card parties. I wonder if I ever shall. I wonder if Prudie's remembered to meat the calves. I wonder if she burned the heavy cake. I wonder if it's going to rain. Dear life, I wonder if I’m going to be sick.
They reached Sawle, crossed the shingle bar, and climbed the hill at the other side.
“Are you tired?” Ross asked, as she seemed to lag.
“No, no.” It was the first time he had ever asked that.
The sun had gone down now, and the brows of the sky were dark. After their brief carnival the waves had reassembled and rode in showing long, green caverns as they curved to break.
And Ross again knew himself to be happy—in a new and less ephemeral way than before. He was filled with a queer sense of enlightenment. It seemed to him that all his life had moved to this pinpoint of time down the scattered threads of twenty years; from his old childhood running thoughtless and barefoot in the sun on Hendrawna sands, from Demelza's birth in the squalor of a mining cottage, from the plains of Virginia and the trampled fairgrounds of Redruth, from the complex impulses which had governed Elizabeth's choice of Francis and from the simple philosophies of Demelza's own faith, all had been animated to a common end—and that end a moment of enlightenment and understanding and completion. Someone—a Latin poet—had defined eternity as no more than this: to hold and possess the whole fullness of life in one moment, here and now, past and present and to come.
He thought: if we could only stop life for a while I would stop here. Not when I get home, not leaving Trenwith, but here, here reaching the top of the hill out of Sawle, dusk wiping out the edges of the land and Demelza walking and humming at my side.
He knew of things plucking at his attention. All existence was a cycle of difficulties to be met and obstacles to be surmounted. But at this evening hour of Christmas Day, 1787, he was not concerned with the future, only the present. He thought: I am not hungry or thirsty or lustful or envious; I am not perplexed or weary or ambitious or remorseful. Just ahead, in the immediate future, there is waiting an open door and a warm house, comfortable chairs and quietness and companionship. Let me hold it.
In the slow dusk they skirted Nampara Cove and began the last short climb beside the brook towards the house.
Demelza began to sing, mischievously and in a deep voice:
There was an old couple and they was poor, Tweedle, tweedle, go twee.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Winston Graham was the author of forty novels, including The Walking Stick, Angell, Pearl and Little God, Stephanie, and Tremor. His books have been widely translated and his famous Poldark series has been developed into two television series shown in twenty-four countries. A special two-hour television programme has been made of his eighth Poldark novel, The Stranger from the Sea, whilst a five-part television serial of his early novel The Forgotten Story won a silver medal at the New York Film Festival. Six of Winston Graham's books have been filmed for the big screen, the most notable being Mamie, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Winston Graham was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 1983 was awarded the OBE. He died in July 2003.
READING GROUP GUIDE
1. When Ross arrives home after years of fighting in America, he discovers that Elizabeth, the woman he loved, was engaged to marry his cousin Francis. This causes several confrontations, most notably the argument that Ross and Francis have down in the mine that nearly results in Francis drowning. Ross says that the incident had not only shown the extent of his anger, but its limitations as well. Do you think that Francis realized this? What do you think that Ross and Francis's reactions to this incident say about each man?
2. When Ross first returns to Nampara he finds Jud and Prudie drunk and the house and land in a terrible state of disrepair, yet he decides to keep Jud and Prudie on to bring the house back to working order. Does he keep them out of sentimentality or simply because it is easiest? How is he later rewarded by keeping rather lazy, but faithful, servants?
3. Ross seems to be more connected with the people who live on his land than many of the other members of his class are. Do you believe this is because of the way of life he saw in America, or is he inherently different from his peers?
4. Verity becomes romantically attached to Captain Blamey who, it is discovered, has a history of alcoholism and was involved with the death of his first wife. Verity claims that he is reformed, that he no longer drinks, and would not hurt her. Do you believe this is true? Are people capable of changing so drastically? Verity's relatives are violently opposed to the match. If you were in their position, would you be comfortable letting your child/sister marry a man in that situation?
5. Verity and Captain Blamey's romance ends abruptly after the duel between Captain Blamey and Francis. Demelza later tells Ross that this was at least partly his fault. Do you agree that Ross should have done something to prevent the duel? Did he allow the duel to occur because he didn’t approve of the match, or was there another reason?
6. Once Demelza grows into a young woman, rumors intensify that Ross is keeping her as a kitchen wench for his own lascivious purposes. He chooses to ignore the rumors, and seems to take it all fairly well, believing that the people who matter to him will know they are not true. How would you deal with unfounded but pervasive rumors about yourself? About someone you love?
7. Not long after Elizabeth give birth to Geoffrey Charles, Francis wants to be intimate but is rebuffed. “There was no one to tell him that he was wrong in being jealous of Ross. There was no one to tell him that another and more powerful rival had arisen. There was no one to warn him about Geoffrey Charles.” Do you believe it is Geoffrey Charles, or Francis being jealous of Ross that drives Francis and Elizabeth apart?
8. Demelza is at first very nervous about meeting Verity and begs Ross not to invite her to the house. After a few days the two women bond and become fast friends. In what ways does Verity influence Demelza? In what ways does Demelza influence Verity?
9. At the Christmas party, Demelza surprises Ross by successfully navigating the social challenges of the ev
ening. By the end of the night many people have changed their opinions of Demelza, and Demelza has changed her opinions of some people as well, particularly Elizabeth. Where she used to be intimidated and jealous of Elizabeth, she now feels sorry for her. Does Elizabeth deserve Demelza's pity? Have you ever been jealous of someone, but after getting to know them, discovered they were not as intimidating as they seemed?
10. Do you think that Ross and Demelza's marriage has a better chance of surviving than Francis and Elizabeth's despite the differences in their social class and backgrounds?
Winston Graham, Ross Poldark
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