Chapter Forty
August had grown heavy and weighed on the horizon like a hazy film. From their position beyond the dunes, Alfred could make out the edge of the Earth where the sherbet clouds blended into the darkness that was the center of the ocean. Large waves tumbled toward the shore with a roar that subsided into a hush of water spreading along the sand toward their feet. Florence’s hand grasped at his arm, and he turned to face her.
“Doing alright?”
“My boots weren’t made for the sand,” she commented, watching her footing as they cleared a tiny inlet where the water had made its way farther inland during the day’s high tide. “I’ll have to buy more adventurous shoes if we’re to walk the beach regularly.”
She looked up and gave him a smile from beneath her parasol. He slowed his pace
