The Carissima by Lucas Malet (1896)

This is the first time I've heard a stutter in the smoothly-humming engines of Lucas Malet. It is her fifth novel, and confirms the theory that her odd-numbered ones seem to be smaller, more unusual, particular pieces. This is the story of a seemingly ingenuous young woman, Charlotte Perry, contracting an engagement but not seeing her betrothed for some time while he pursues business in South Africa. Malet's archetypal worldly aesthete character, Anthony Hammond, is introduced to her on holiday at Lake Geneva; her betrothed, Constantine Leversedge, is Hammond's friend. But Hammond knows Leversedge's secret - he has had some tough experiences in South Africa. The most tough was coming across a camp on the veldt where some people had been viciously murdered quite some time before - the stench and the horrifying scene are what he calls "the Thing-too-much," and the sight of a demon-like dog there, presumably feasting on the corpses, has caught him like a constantly recurrent bad dream. Leversedge is haunted, and often nervously unstrung, thinking he sees his hound dogging him elusively and threateningly at times of stress. A terrible tragedy of inconstancy then plays out on Lake Geneva, with social vying playing at cross-purposes to emotional uncertainties. This novel feels a little too uncertain at times, with Malet seemingly not sure if she'll have Charlotte be misunderstood or manipulative. The result is a feeling of not-quite-thereness, despite a potentially fascinating mixture, and a delving into the supernatural that holds promise.