Love Amidst Adversity

Five years before the story opens, a third family set a scheme in motion against two households, and both were ruined by it. The daughter of one house was left with two parents in a vegetative state. She took work as a housekeeper and the wages went on their care. The son of the other house, who had grown up with her and had been her lover, concluded that her family was behind what had happened to his. He entered a marriage arrangement with the family that had set the scheme. She was in his household and was humiliated there. She stayed and did not tell him what she knew. He kept her close and treated her badly through this period. Over time he came across parts of what had actually happened. The two grew close again while that was going on.