Daffodils were blooming in Katrin’s kitchen garden and soft breezes ruffled the clothes drying on the line. The beginning of another...

Sometime after the funeral, soon after Twelfth Night, Madame Neil and Katrin quarreled. The precipitating event was Katrin’s desire to...

Adam was encouraged by the spirit of harmony in his new family. Madame Niel and her daughter-in-law cooperated in the managing of the...

Adam completed his training and prepared to take over the trade. More and more Monsieur Niel deferred to Adam in the day-to-day...

For five years, Clemence had been the center of Adam’s existence. Her unexpected death and the arrival of Etienne left him stunned and...

That following May, late on a fine spring afternoon, after closing the shoemaker’s shop, Adam visited the inn for his daily refreshment....

Adam persevered for three tumultuous, rocky years. His devotion to Clemence, though severely tried, never wavered. Even as he was...

Soon after he returned the war intruded. Fleeing refugees brought news to the city that a Spanish army was on the march. The garrison...

That winter*, after arranging time away from work, he returned to Sainte Marie Kerque. Madame Niel welcomed him to her house, insisting...

Several months passed. Absence only made Clemence Niel of Sainte Marie Kerque more lovely and enchanting in Adam’s memory. He longed to...

Some time passed before Adam could fulfill his promise to his friend’s widow. Finally, the feast day of Saint Jean Baptiste coincided...

For generations the Valluy family lived in Calais as fishers, dockworkers and sailors. At this time, in the years after Calais became...