A shower of summer days

by May Sarton · 1952

When Violet Dene Gordon and her husband Charles sail home from British Burma, they bring with them a fragile hope of renewal for Dene's Court, the crumbling Irish manor that has haunted Violet since childhood. The once‑grand house, its shuttered windows and overgrown tennis court, has become a local curiosity, and the village buzzes with anticipation as the couple prepares to breathe life back into its silent halls. Complicating their return is Violet’s spirited American niece, Sally, a college student dispatched by her mother to keep the young woman away from a reckless lover. As the new residents settle into the estate’s shadowed rooms, old resentments surface, tempers flare, and long‑suppressed memories stir. Together they must navigate the tangled ties of family, love, and belonging, seeking a fragile peace amid the lingering echo of the past.