The Fatal Three

When John Fausset brings an orphaned girl named Fay into his polished but fragile home, he sets in motion a quiet domestic drama of duty, jealousy, and buried guilt. Maud, devoted to comfort and appearances, resents the intrusion, while their affectionate daughter Mildred instinctively welcomes Fay, a pale, serious, book-loving girl in black whose neglected air sharply contrasts with the household's elegance. John hopes Fay will belong; Maud doubts she ever truly can. Even the room assigned to her reveals the coldness beneath the surface, and the household's loyalties begin to divide. As Fay and Mildred grow inseparable, their bond exposes the emotional neglect at the heart of the family. Bell, the iron-willed servant who has become indispensable to the house, helps preserve its secrets and class tensions, while Maud's suspicion deepens into cruelty. At last, the truth emerges: Fay is John's illegitimate daughter, and Mrs. Fausset's lifelong hostility is rooted in betrayal. After grief and mourning reshape the household, Mildred's life opens into a new chapter of love and inheritance, leading toward her meeting with George Greswold. Yet even marriage and loss cannot free the family from tragedy, and the shadow of Enderby Manor lingers over a story of memory, estrangement, and hearts divided by the past. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.