The novel begins with a first-person plural narrator—"Pauline Gardiner joined us"—immediately establishing a collective, almost communal perspective. This 'us' is the Second Reader class, and the narrator speaks from within the group, not as an omniscient observer. The opening pages dwell on the Gardiner house, described through the children's longing: a high brick wall with broken glass, an apricot tree "the climax of tantalization." The sensory details—tan-bark smell after rain, the taste of apricots—anchor the story in a specific, remembered childhood. The narrator's voice is intimate yet restrained, offering a child's view of Pauline as both shy and daring, as when she leads a raft race and does not scream when overturned. This opening suggests the novel will filter adult events through a lens of early memory.

The Narrator's Position and Perspective

The excerpts never name the narrator, who remains part of the 'us' even as the story advances. In the opening, the narrator describes Pauline's arrival at school and the house's history, but the voice stays collective: "We knew well the enchanted house." Later, in the middle excerpt, the narrator recedes, presenting scenes through dialogue and action—Scarborough's ride, Pauline's encounter in the hayfield. The shift from 'we' to a more detached third-person suggests the narrator may be a character who grows up alongside Pauline, but the text does not confirm this. Readers should note how the narrative distance changes: close in childhood, more observational in adulthood. This technique creates a sense of shared memory without revealing the storyteller's identity.

Sensory Detail as Character Clue

Phillips uses sensory details to reveal character and mood. In the opening, the Gardiner house is described through smell (tan-bark, blossoms), taste (apricots), and touch (firm soft ground). These details convey the children's envy and the house's allure. In the middle excerpt, the hayfield scene relies on scent: "keen, sweet, intoxicating perfume" of drying grass and clover. Pauline's response—"I'm glad to have help in enjoying this"—shows her attunement to the moment. The narrator also notes her horse Bandit's behavior: he obeys "because he felt that she was without fear." Such details build Pauline as someone physically confident and perceptive, traits that likely shape later conflicts.

The Unspoken Between Characters

The middle excerpt centers on a charged silence. Scarborough finds Pauline alone in a hayfield; they have not been alone since "the afternoon at Battle Field when she confessed her marriage and he his love." The conversation is sparse, with long pauses. Pauline speaks of her horse's lameness, then says riding is "the keenest of the many physical delights." The narrator notes she "fought out her battles with herself on horseback." What is left unsaid—the marriage, the love confession—hovers over the scene. Readers must infer the history from these fragments. The text does not explain the marriage or its cost, only that it exists. This restraint invites the reader to watch for how past decisions surface in later chapters.

Structure and the Use of Time

The chapter titles in the table of contents span from "A Father Invites Disaster" to "After the Long Winter," suggesting a chronological arc. The opening excerpt is set in childhood; the middle excerpt appears to take place years later, after Pauline's marriage to Dumont. The later excerpt (the Project Gutenberg legal appendix) is not part of the novel, but the text itself likely covers a span of years. The narrator's occasional shifts between past and present tense—"She was eight years old" versus "She liked boys' games"—create a sense of reminiscence. Readers should track how the narrative handles time: whether it moves linearly or loops back, and how the 'cost' of the title accumulates across the decades.

These excerpts offer a starting point for observing how Phillips builds a world through sensory memory and withheld information. The narrator's collective voice, the charged silences between characters, and the careful use of setting all reward close attention. As you read, note how the early details—the wall, the apricot tree, the raft race—echo in later scenes. The novel's title suggests a reckoning, but the excerpts leave that reckoning implied. Let the gaps guide your reading.