An Early Mystery Summary

The girl debates the benefits of the candy displayed before her. In the background, her mother is arguing with the shopkeeper in a voice that she usually reserves for arguing with her father. The girl's candy decision is halted for a moment when she smells the mixture of gardenia, cinnamon and alcohol as the woman who bends down, looks in her eyes and wonders if she is the father's little girl. Her mother separates the woman from the girl, yet somehow the woman is still there long after she is gone.

An Early Mystery Analysis

The father's mistress has the audacity to approach the girl in public, and the girl is whisked away. She is left with something heavy hanging over her and her mother instead of the sweets she thought she would get.