Summary
In an exquisite tableau of early 20th-century English gentility, Viviette, a spirited and alluring ward of the affluent Mrs. Ware, returns from her finishing studies, her vivaciousness a captivating disruption to the staid country estate. Immediately, young Dick Ware, a scion of similar impetuous temperament, succumbs to an ardent, almost feverish infatuation. While Viviette finds herself drawn to his passionate intensity, her shrewd intellect discerns a profound lack of ambition beneath his fervent declarations, compelling her to veil her reciprocal, albeit nascent, affections. The narrative deepens with the arrival of Austin Ware, Dick’s elder brother, a man of formidable success and sober disposition, temporarily detached from his burgeoning London legal career. Viviette, recognizing Austin’s pragmatic acumen, subtly cultivates his acquaintance, artfully orchestrating a clandestine scheme to secure Dick a promising professional foothold in the nascent opportunities of Vancouver. This well-intentioned intervention, however, becomes tragically entangled in a web of misapprehension. Austin, unbeknownst to Dick, harbors a deep, abiding devotion to Kathryn Holroyd, yet Dick, blinded by his own obsessive love and a profound sense of rivalry, misinterprets the burgeoning professional camaraderie between Viviette and Austin as a burgeoning romance. A jesting, almost flippant suggestion from Viviette – a challenge for the brothers to settle their supposed rivalry in a duel – is taken with chilling gravity by Dick. The resulting confrontation nearly claims Austin's life, a stark, visceral moment that shatters Viviette's carefully constructed emotional facade. Confronted with the devastating repercussions of her playful manipulation and the raw, dangerous intensity of Dick's devotion, Viviette, in a profound act of self-sacrifice and pragmatic resignation, offers herself as Dick's wife, embarking with him on a reluctant journey to Vancouver, a union forged not of blissful romance, but of desperate necessity and profound, irreversible consequence.
Synopsis
Viviette, the impulsive, coquettish adopted daughter of wealthy Englishwoman Mrs. Ware, completes her education and returns to her mother's country estate. Young Dick Ware, who is as impulsive as Viviette, falls passionately in love with her, and although she is attracted to him, his lack of ambition causes her to conceal her affections. When Dick's sober, successful brother Austin takes leave from his London law practice to visit his family, Viviette befriends him, and the two secretly make plans to secure Dick a position in Vancouver. Although Austin loves Kathryn Holroyd, Dick believes that Austin is in love with Viviette, so when the latter jokingly suggests that the brothers fight a duel over her, Dick takes the idea seriously. He nearly kills Austin, whereupon Viviette, realizing the gravity of the situation, offers to accompany Dick to Vancouver as his wife.
