Feeling as carefree as in the days of her childhood, when the little isolated, uninhabited cove had been her and her late grandfather’s domain, she pulled off her shoes and stockings, discarded her straw hat and ran laughing into the surf of the incoming waves. She shrieked as the cold water bit into her feet and legs, soaking the deep hem of her dress. She felt exhilarated and here, all alone, she could let it out in complete abandonment. Married to an unconventional member of the gentry she had never had to live quite as a lady born into the upper class would be expected to. But it was good to cast off all restrictions with no prying or concerned eyes to judge or chide, or even to indulge her.

Bob barked loudly as he joined in the fun, charging the waves, chasing a bobbing piece of seaweed, allowing Kerensa to splash salt water over him until he was thoroughly soaked. Then shaking out his coat and soaking her in turn he walked loyally at her side as she paddled the length of the shoreline east to west and back again. She tossed pebbles into the sea which he raced after until panting for breath. There was a large outcrop of rocks close to the shoreline which were completely submerged during high tide; they were surrounded only by rock pools now and dog and mistress waded through the blue water and climbed to the summit of the black granite. They sat side by side, the breeze lifting their hair and fanning their faces, watching the sea recede until the shoreline was several feet away.

When Kerensa returned to her shoes and stockings, Bob bounded off to explore and sniff out the semi-circular confines of the cove, curious to find out if anything new had been there to disturb the peace and trespass on their private little world since their last visit. He found a dirty old tobacco pouch lost by a careless smuggler on one of his master’s runs and although the contents were gone the piece of rough cloth smelled interesting and the dog lay down to examine it with his broad snout.

Kerensa picked up her footwear in one hand, retrieved her hat in the other and swung it by its red velvet ribbons as she made her way to the smooth granite boulders that edged the cove. She sat on a rock with knees drawn up and used a part of her petticoat untouched by sea water to remove clinging grains of sand and to dry her feet with vigorous rubbing and patting movements, then held them out straight in front of her for inspection. They were soft pink with small patches of purple-blue but with the numbness rubbed away they felt delightfully warm and tingly.