"We were as one, it is what we both thought — did we think about it at all? Reflections, our mams said, and we could not see, not you, not me, that life could be without the other. But — " Mary had a flash of understanding that made her gasp and spring to her feet. "But Duncan," she cried aloud, "I did go on without you! Even at home after you had gone. But you could not go on without me. You turned from me for four years — four long years. When you wanted to die, then you called. You wanted me to die with you." She sank back into her chair. "What you did was not my fault," she whispered, "it was not. Luke was right. A shadow, he said." Wonderingly she repeated it aloud. "A shadow. Alive and dead, you were like a shadow. And I thought I could not manage life without you. I thought you were so strong because you were beautiful and exciting. Time was I would follow you anywhere. When you called me I could not believe evil of you. I thought it must be a devil. Mam was right."

From Shadow in Hawthorn Bay by Janet Lunn ©1986. Published by Penguin Canada.