I thought this might be some kind of Piper book, i.e. with Pipers of some sorts. But it appears to be more along the line of a moral relating to "he who pays the piper...." Even so, I liked the book quite a lot. When I tried describing the book to my spouse, she thought it sounded rather creepy.

So, we have Harriet Field living in the household of Richard Carter, a rich business man who has an estate, he has named Crownlands, overlooking the Hudson river. Harriet wears several hats in the household, she's the nanny for Carter's teenage daughter, Nina, private secretary for Carter's spouse, Isabelle, and, since Isabelle is more focused on personal pleasure than anything else, de facto housekeeper at Crownlands. That is to say, she, more than Isabelle, deals with the daily concerns of getting the servants organized to keep the house running smoothly.

Well, problems arise. Richard Carter's spouse, Isabella, runs off to Europe with a handsome, if not stable, young man. That results in Harriet's becoming even more important in the running of the household.

Another complication arises. A roué from Harriet's past, one Royal Blondin shows up and begins bestowing his attentions on Harriet's charge, Nina. Harriet would like to speak out against him, but doing so would also expose her to some scandal, and would likely compromise her comfortable situation. She and Royal strike a sort of truce, each promising not to bring up the past. But, how to save Nina from the heartbreak almost sure to follow if she gives into Blondin's attentions?

Well, I could go on, but that wouldn't be a good idea. Suffice to say, it was a rather fun book. I may well hunt us some more of Kathleen Norris works for future reading. Note, that Kathleen Thompson Norris was a novelist in the first half of the 20th century, and is not to be confused with the contemporary poet, Kathleen Norris.

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