In addition to writing fantasy and horror stories, A. E. Coppard had a wonderful talent for describing nature and human nature through his tales of life and love in the English countryside. In this story, a hiker exploring the Cotswolds stops for the night at a village inn. The only lodger, he shares passionate embraces with a dusky serving girl in a downstairs sitting room. Later that night, she invites him to her bedroom where, as she lays naked beside him, he proves to be a perfect English gentleman. Themes: the beauty of nature, isolation, loneliness, desire, restraint. More…