* At the age of fifteen, Julia becomes the wife of a nutmeg planter in the East Indies. These marriages-by-proxy are known as _________ marriages.
* Our English heroine, Julia Ashley, is left an orphan in Ireland. What happened to her parents?
* At the age of twelve, Julia is on the move again, this time to where?
* Eight years later, a Dutch sea captain, Johannes Belderdik, finds the starving Julia while on a mysterious trip to Ireland. He is taken with the little girl, and brings her home. What is his wife's reaction?
* Julia is rescued from a desperate situation by a young Englishman, Charles. Who is he?
* All the action takes place in which inn?
* What was wrong with Harriet, Will?s younger daughter?
* The inn?s landlord, Will Oakley, used to have a different profession; when Jonathan Smail found him, the secret of his real identity and history threatened to destroy his life. What was his old job?
* What relationship did Effie the maid have with Dick Stevens, the stable-hand?
* Three of the guests at the inn that night were to play a part in the events which were to overtake the Oakley family. Which of the following characters in the book was NOT booked to stay in the inn?
* Over what did the maid Sarah blackmail Effie in order to force her to help her conceal her pregnancy?
* How much money did Smail demand of Will, along with marriage to Harriet?
* The inn was fully packed that night, because of the time of year and the bad weather, so much so that Smail was given Harriet?s bedroom. Where was Harriet expected to sleep?
* What was the name of the girl who married Tom Rowhedge, but whose first child was fathered by Jon Borage?
* Tom and Elizabeth's first child, Thomas, was to have only one child, and it was this person who was branded as a witch during the Civil War. What was this person's name?
* Phyl's only grandson, Johnny, was married to Lady Rosemary, while only one of his three sisters married and left the house. Lady Rosemary was independently wealthy through the inheritance from her uncle - but how had he made his fortune?
* Charlotte Booth was sent to Merravay, to her uncle Alan, in the Victorian era, because she had made herself ill over a failed love affair. What connection did Charlotte have to Sandell, who bought Merravay some years before?
* Pieter, Julia's husband, is mentally handicapped, a fact which Mynheer Vosmar has managed to keep secret all these years. What does he think caused Pieter's affliction?
* While walking through the nutmeg groves one day, Julia comes upon something which horrifies her. What is it?
* Nicolas Vanderplasse comes to visit Rua. Who is he?