This short story was one of three in the Project Gutenberg version of "The House in the Mist."

A rather surprising suspense type of story... heroine lives next door to a man who keeps to himself and is known to be eccentric. She raises the alarm one day when his house is on fire, and then he starts to visit her, wham, he proposes and they get married.

Their relationship is actually a bit weird, I got some serious "Gaslight" vibes off it, if you know what I mean.

It's clear all the way through that she's rather afraid of him, but still has this kind of passive attachment. By the end you're supposed to believe that they're going to be OK, but I don't care, I'm thinking he still probably shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects, etc.

For me, Anna Katherine Green hit a false note in this story, because the guy's character was too easily redeemed. Misdeeds of his magnitude don't just get swept under the rug. Still, the suspense was pretty well done, and based on these three short stories, I would read more by this author. ( )

Delight Hunter is visiting her friends the Vandykes when she meets and marries the man living in the mansion opposite. A house that belongs to a Mrs Ransome and he, Mr Humphrey Allison, is her man of business. But what secrets does the house hold.
An enjoyable little mystery, first published in 1898 ( )