Stormy Petrel — Mary Stewart

The isolated cottage on the island of Moila seems ideal for an aspiring poet in search of an ivory tower....

Rose Fenemore hopes that two weeks away from her teaching post at Cambridge might awaken her dormant muse. Her brother Crispin, a doctor in need of a holiday, plans to join her.

Then one night before Crispin arrives, Rose is shocked to find a stranger in her kitchen-and a very attractive one. Ewen Mackay claims he grew up in her cottage-he has a key to prove it-and she is just at the point of believing him when another man seeks shelter from the storm. John Parsons also rouses Rose's skepticism...and more tender feelings as well.

And as the truth about the two men unfolds, the stormy petrels, fragile, elusive birds who fly close to the waves, come to symbolize Rose's confusion and the mystery of her future...