"I don't have to imagine, I was here a month before he arrived," Demelza answers, frowning faintly at the memory. "I didn't like it at all. Twas difficult, being without him, especially as things were between us before I arrived here. I... I had done something terrible in attempt only to make our cousin Verity happy, but it all went so wrong."

Ross had been so angry with her, though he hadn't said as much. His disappointment had echoed over their entire home, making her feel as if she would never be able to repair their relationship or his trust in her.

"She was in love with a man of whom her brother did not approve and I helped them meet in secret," she says. "Her brother found out, blamed Ross, and revealed something he knew about Ross which ruined his business. It destroyed the lives of many good men."